The Conservatives have held Haverhill West after Graham David Cone won the West Suffolk Council by-election with more than half of the votes cast.
Cone received 530 votes in Thursday's contest, comfortably ahead of Reform UK in second place with 267.
Labour finished third on 146 votes, followed by the Green Party on 60 and the Liberal Democrats on 30.
The result means the Conservatives retain the seat on West Suffolk Council.
Conservatives take 51% of the vote
A total of 1,033 votes were cast for the five candidates, giving the Conservatives approximately 51.3% of the candidate vote.
Reform UK secured approximately 25.8%, Labour 14.1%, the Greens 5.8% and the Liberal Democrats 2.9%.
The official turnout was 24.49% from an electorate of 4,218.
The Conservative victory comes after a closely fought ward contest at the previous full West Suffolk Council elections in 2023, when the ward returned one Labour councillor and one Conservative councillor.
Reform finishes second
While the Conservatives retained the seat, Reform UK's second-place finish will also attract attention as the parties assess changes in support ahead of future local elections.
Reform candidate Heike Sowa received 267 votes, putting the party 121 votes ahead of Labour, which finished third.
The result therefore leaves the Conservatives with a clear victory while Reform establishes itself as the principal challenger in this particular by-election.
Full result
Graham David Cone — Conservative — 530 votes (51.3%)
Heike Sowa — Reform UK — 267 votes (25.8%)
Quinn Cox — Labour — 146 votes (14.1%)
Claire Higson — Green Party — 60 votes (5.8%)
James William Porter — Liberal Democrats — 30 votes (2.9%)
CONSERVATIVE HOLD
The by-election was held on Thursday 10 September, with verification and counting taking place at Haverhill Rugby Club.