County Council elections and South Shields by-election liveblog

Welcome to the County Council and South Shields by-election liveblog. We’re bringing you all of the results and rumours from now until Friday evening – so stay tuned, and stay in touch.

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[liveblog]

Farage is a whiny winner – and that’s not attractive to voters

As expected Nigel Farage has won his by-election in Clacton. In fact, from some perspectives this was a…

Emma Burnell

14th August, 2026, 9:42 am

t George flags are flying on a roundabout in Northampton

Comment

‘To learn from the flag debate we have to understand values’

Recent events in Birmingham illustrate the political trap that disputes over flags can create for Labour councils. The…

Chris Clarke & Pete Starkings

14th August, 2026, 6:00 am

Comment

‘Give workers the security they deserve’

Labour’s manifesto pledged to ban exploitative zero-hour contracts and improve security for working people. The government passed new…

Joseph Evans

14th August, 2026, 6:00 am

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