Reform is seeking to uproot Labour and the Tories in two by-election battles happening in wards located in Bradford and Peterborough tomorrow.
In Bradford, the Conservatives are defending their seat in the Worth Valley ward and down in Peterborough, Labour is hoping to hold on to their seat in the Fletton & Woodston ward.
All the major parties will be looking to secure wins, especially with the May by-elections looming.
National polls are looking favourable to Reform UK, with several polls placing Nigel Farage’s party ahead of Labour and the Tories.
Worth Valley (Bradford)
Kemi Badenoch’s Conservative Party is attempting to defend their seat in the Worth Valley ward in Bradford Council.
The by-election was called after the death of Conservative councillor Russell Brown, who sat on the council since November 2010.
Councillor Rebecca Poulsen, leader of the Conservatives and Cllr Brown’s ward colleague, said: “My colleagues and I were devastated to hear of the recent passing of Cllr Russell Brown.
“He cared passionately about our local area and had many friends of all political colours.”
Conservative councillor Russell Brown died back in November
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Worth Valley ward is currently majority run by the Conservatives.
On a parliamentary level, the ward sits within the Keighley and Ilkley constituency, represented by Shadow Minister for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Robbie Moore.
In last year’s General Election, Mr Moore held on to his seat with a 1,625 vote majority.
THE FULL LIST OF CANDIDATES STANDING IN WORTH VALLEY:
- Paul Belcome Constantine Golding – Conservative Party
- Josie McMaster – Green Party
- Sabine Ebert-Forbes – Independent
- Peter James Kates – Labour Party
- Kay Kirkham – Liberal Democrats
- Andrew Mark Judson – Reform UK
Fletton & Woodston (Peterborough)
Next, we’re in Cambridgeshire, with a by-election happening in the Fletton & Woodston ward in Peterborough City Council.
This by-election was called following the death of Labour councillor Alan Dowson, who also served as Mayor of Peterborough between 2022-2023.
Cllr Dowson was a nuclear test veteran on Christmas Island in 1958, where he witnessed the detonations of thermonuclear bombs in the Pacific while he was just 19 years old.
Councillor Shabina Qayyum, Leader of Peterborough City Council, said: “Alan was a friend to everyone. He was a true Socialist in every sense of the word and wanted to be remembered as such. He was so very loved in his ward by his residents.”
Fletton & Woodston ward is currently majority run by Liberal Democrats.
The late Labour councillor Alan Dowson was a nuclear test veteran and also Mayor of Peterborough in 2022-23
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On a parliamentary level, the ward sits within the North West Cambridgeshire constituency, represented by Labour MP Sam Carling, who won the seat off the Conservatives in 2024 by a very slim majority of just 39.
THE FULL LIST OF CANDIDATES STANDING IN FLETTON & WOODSTON:
- Andrew Stephen Willey – Conservative and Unionist Party
- Ed Murphy – Green Party
- Harvey Woodhouse – Labour Party
- Neil Christopher Watson – Liberal Democrats
- Andrew O’Neil – Reform UK
Yesterday, Welsh voters took to the polls in another local by-election held in the Fishguard North East ward in Pembrokeshire.
Labour support in the ward collapsed as the party ceded control to Plaid Cymru.
Plaid won the election in a landslide, claiming 33.8 per cent of the vote.
The Lib Dems came in second on a distant 18 per cent, while Reform took third with 12.7 per cent.
Labour fell -47.9 per cent since the 2022 election, gathering just 11.1 per cent of the votes.
The Conservatives sunk beneath an independant candidate with 9.2 per cent of the vote, dropping 31.9 percentage points since the last by-election in the ward.