Reform UK is set to battle with Labour tomorrow as Nigel Farage's party looks to prove the doubters wrong after failing to defend seats in its first three by-elections.
It comes after the party lost seats it was defending in Staffordshire, Nottinghamshire and Durham.
Farage's party currently holds a seat in Easington and Shotton, however, after Councillor John Bailey resigned due to ill health, it is now up for grabs.
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The newly led Reform UK Durham Council saw the party secure a landslide victory in May after claiming 65 seats.
The other seats up for grabs on Thursday are Labour-held and both spurred by deaths to its incumbent councillors at Cannock Chase Council's Hednesford Green Heath ward and Carmarthenshire Council's Llangennech ward.
Nigel Farage will be watching the council by-elections with a keen eye
| PAEasington & Shotton, Durham Council
Incumbent Reform UK Councillor John Bailey announced his resignation from his seat in early June after claiming ill health.
A party spokesman said: "We are deeply saddened to learn of Mr Bailey's resignation as a result of a serious health issue."
"We are immensely grateful for him stepping forward to make a difference in his community," the spokesman added.
"We wish John and his family the very best during this difficult time."
Bailey was previously a member of the Liberal Democrats, however, due to "irreconcilable differences" he became an independent before moving to Reform.
The seat will be watched with keen interest given Reform have lost three by-elections in recent months.
Easington and Shotton, Durham Council candidates:
- Stephen Ashfield - Green Party
- Arlene Helen Childs - Independent
- Ivan Cochrane - Independent
- Chris Hood - Independent
- Chukwuka Okuchukwu - Independent
- Louise Anne Penders - Reform UK
- Tony Stubbs - Conservative and Unionist Party
- Angela Surtees - Labour
Cannock Chase Council Headquarters
|WIKICOMMONS
Hednesford Green Heath, Cannock Chase Council
A by-election was called in the Hednesford Green Heath ward in Cannock after the death of former council vice-chair Fred Prestwood.
Councillor Prestwood, a former miner and postman, died at the age of 67 in May, just days before his civic year was set to end.
Tributes were paid to the Labour councillor by colleague Sue Thornley, who said: "He was many things, he was a proud ex-miner, district councillor, a loyal friend, loving granddad and devoted to his wife Jacquie.
"He worked hard underground and carried the same sense of duty within his public service."
Prestwood was originally voted to represent Cannock East in 2023, before he became a Hednesford Green Heath ward member the following year.
Eyes will be on the Cannock results as Reform recently took control of the wider Staffordshire County Council with a huge majority.
Hednesford Green Heath, Cannock Chase Council candidates:
- Terry Dryhurst - UK Independence Party (Ukip)
- Phil Hewitt - Conservative Party
- Sharon Denise Jagger - Independent
- Paul Jones - Reform UK
- Gareth Knox - Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition
- Alan Pearson - Labour
- Rachel Lauren Rock - Green Party
Voters will be going to the polls in Carmarthenshire
|WIKICOMMONS
Llangennech, Carmarthenshire County Council
Over in Wales, there will be a by-election in the Llangennech ward on Carmarthenshire County Council after the death of Labour councillor Gary Jones in May.
Jones, a former tin plater at the steelworks in Ebbw Vale, died at the Prince Philip Hospital, Llanelli after a three year battle with pancreatic cancer.
A tribute posted on his page said: "His constituents will miss his tireless work on their behalf.
"The family will miss the kindest, gentlest, most modest and generous man that ever was."
It's not just Reform who will be looking at the results in Llangennech, as Plaid Cymru will restore their majority on the council if they win the seat.
Llangennech, Carmarthenshire County Council Candidates:
- Carmelo Colasanto - Reform UK
- Wayne Erasmus - Gwlad
- Edward Evans - Conservative Party
- Justin Griffiths - Liberal Democrats
- Richard Talog Jones - Plaid Cymru
- Jordan Sargent - Labour