Council by-elections: Labour vote share falls as Lib Dems strengthen in rural seats

Labour’s share of the vote fell in all four council by-elections last night as the Lib Dems and Tories made gains.

The Lib Dems and Tories each held a seat and gained a further ward from UKIP.

Paul Nuttall’s eurosceptic party saw their vote slump by double-digit figures in the only two seats they contested but it was also a sobering night for Labour, who fell back everywhere.

Labour’s vote share fell by 7.4 per cent in Bath and North East Somerset and 10 per cent in Aylesbury Vale in Buckinghamshire. It also suffered tiny changes in Tendring, in Essex, and Calderdale in West Yorkshire where the party was nudged back by one and half a per cent respectively.

Jeremy Corbyn launched Labour’s local elections campaign in the Tory parliamentary constituency of Newark in the East Midlands on Tuesday. He made a pitch to voters to support Labour in order to protect the NHS and said the Tories are “running our country down in every way” and quoted figures which, he said, showed life expectancy falling for some age groups.

Labour has won a series of Commons by-elections under Corbyn, including in Tooting, but suffered an embarrassing defeat in Copeland despite a strong local candidate.

Walcot (Bath and North East Somerset)

Lib Dem hold

Lib Dems 48.6 per cent (+11.2)

Greens 22.2 per cent (+0.4)

Conservatives 22 per cent (-0.5)

Labour 7.2 per cent (-7.4)

Elmhurst (Aylesbury Vale)

Lib Dem gain from UKIP

Lib Dems 63.5 per cent (+37.9)

Labour 12.2 per cent (-10.0)

Conservatives 11.9 per cent (-9.3)

UKIP 9 per cent (-14.4)

Greens 3.5 per cent (-4.2)

St James (Tendring)

Conservative gain from UKIP

Conservative 47.9 per cent (+12.7)

UKIP 22.5 per cent (-16.3)

Labour 15 per cent (-1)

Lib Dems 12.8 per cent (+12.8)

Greens 1.9 per cent (+1.9)

Hipperholme and Lightcliffe (Calderdale)

Conservative hold

Conservative 60.3 per cent (-4.3)

Lib Dems 17.1 per cent (+6.8)

Labour 16.5 per cent (-0.5)

Greens 6.1 per cent (-2)