By Harry Mottram: If you were to believe the opinion polls then it is Reform UK who are set to upset the political consensus in this country – but if the by-election result in Widcombe and Lyncombe this week (9th October 2025) is anything to go by then Nigel Farage’s party came a distant fourth – although they did beat the Conservative candidate. Vacated by Deborah Collins of the Liberal Democratic party and the ruling party of Bath and North East Somerset who stepped down as she is concentrates on her health after a cancer diagnosis it was for the Lib Dems to lose with resurgent Labour and Green groups to make inroads in their strongholds. The Conservatives – still a long way off their peak back a few years ago when they held the ward – will be disappointed since their party was in conference this week with their leader Kemi Badenoch gaining headlines as she tries to rebrand the Tory party of Thatcher and Heath. Stewart Bridge came out at the top of the poll by some way – endorsing the position of the party as the city’s dominant political organisation.
The result means the number of parties in the Guildhall as follows – with no change:
- 39 LibDems
- 7 Labour
- 4 Inds
- 3 Greens
- 3 Inds for B&NES
- 2 Conservatives
The full result was as follows:
- 769 Stewart Bridge (LibDem)
- 267 Neil Howard (Green Party)
- 212 Helen Torrance (Labour)
- 206 Aaron Scott (Reform UK)
- 149 Matt Corner (Conservative)
- 83 Casey Nolan (Ind)
- 45 Madeline Blackburn (Ind)
Bath Voice and Local Democracy Reporters
The journalists are funded by the BBC as part of its latest Charter commitment, but are employed by regional news organisations. A total of 165 reporters are allocated to news organisations in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland including Bath Voice. These organisations range from television and radio stations to online media companies and established regional newspaper groups. Local Democracy Reporters cover top-tier local authorities, second-tier local authorities and other public service organisations.
Bath Voice Monthly Newspaper is distributed free to thousands of homes and some supermarkets – distributed from the first of the month. Harry Mottram is the News Editor
Email him at news@bathvoice.co.uk Bath website: https://bathvoice.co.uk/news/
Bath Facebook: https://tinyurl.com/bdtf2kep Also on Twitter: https://twitter.com/bath_voice And Bluesky @bathvoicenews.bsky.social And also on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/harrymottram6/
Read the newspaper online at :https://issuu.com/bathvoice
To advertise to thousands of Bathonians call Shaun on 07540 383870 or email him on sales@bathvoice.co.uk