Labour has gained a county council seat from Reform UK in a by-election, delivering a setback to Nigel Farage's party. Labour candidate Jane Lennie won the Shepshed division of Leicestershire County Council on Thursday, overturning Reform's victory in the seat last year.
Labour surges ahead in Shepshed
Ms Lennie secured 32.8% of the vote, compared with 31.3% for Reform candidate Stuart Brian Wood, according to the result published by election trackers. The Conservatives finished third with 23.1%, while Restore Britain took 6.4%. The Liberal Democrats and Greens each received 3.2%.
Labour's vote share increased by 14.9 percentage points compared with the previous contest in May 2025, while Reform's fell by 13.6 points. The result marks a reversal for Mr Farage's party in a division it had won with 45% of the vote at the previous county council election.
By-election triggered by resignation
The by-election was triggered by the resignation of Reform councillor Helen Butler in August. Reform remains the largest party on Leicestershire County Council, where it runs a minority administration.
The result comes amid a changing picture in national voting-intention polls, with Labour recovering ground against Reform in several recent surveys.
National polling picture
A YouGov poll for The Times and Sky News, conducted on October 11 and 12, put Labour on 24%, the Conservatives on 23% and Reform on 21%. The figures placed all three parties within the poll's margin of error, although Reform's share was its joint-lowest in YouGov's tracker during the current Parliament.
A separate polling average published by PollCheck on October 15 put Labour on 27.1%, with Reform on 22.1% and the Conservatives on 21.7%. The national figures suggest the contest between the parties remains close, although voting in a single council division cannot establish a nationwide trend.
Mr Farage's party made major gains in local elections in May 2025, including in Leicestershire, where it emerged as the largest group on the county council. But the Shepshed result demonstrates how quickly a seat can change hands, with Labour moving from 18% of the vote in the previous contest to become the largest party in Thursday's by-election.
The Conservatives' share also fell, down 2.4 percentage points to 23.1%, while the Liberal Democrats dropped 3.4 points and the Greens fell 1.9 points. The result will provide Labour with a local boost as the parties compete for support ahead of the next general election, which must be held by 2029. However, the by-election alone does not show whether the shift towards Labour will be replicated elsewhere, and national polling continues to put the three largest parties within striking distance of one another.
