The Liberal Democrats have gained the Honiton St Michael seat on East Devon District Council from Labour after Rhys Wallis secured a clear victory in Thursday's by-election.
Wallis received 727 votes, representing 45.4% of those cast. Reform UK's Humphrey Clemens finished second with 401 votes, or 24.9%, leaving the Liberal Democrat winner with a majority of 326.
Honiton St Michael by-election result
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share |
| Rhys Wallis | Liberal Democrats | 727 | 45.4% |
| Humphrey Clemens | Reform UK | 401 | 24.9% |
| Paul R Carter | Conservative | 326 | 20.3% |
| Jo Fotheringham | Independent | 74 | 4.6% |
| Jack T Stacey | Labour | 55 | 3.4% |
| John B Taylor | No party description | 19 | 1.2% |
Turnout: 28.7%
Majority: 326
Result: Liberal Democrat gain from Labour
Labour falls to fifth place
The seat had been held by Labour, but its candidate Jack Stacey received 55 votes and finished fifth. Reform UK entered the contest and took second place, while the Conservatives finished third on 326 votes.
Compared with the multi-member ward election in 2023, the published figures put the Conservative share down by 10.2 percentage points and Labour down by 22.4 points. The Liberal Democrats and Reform UK were both treated as new candidacies for the purpose of that comparison.
Those changes are not directly equivalent to a conventional swing because three seats were contested in 2023 and voters could support more than one candidate. Thursday's by-election filled a single vacancy.
Why was the by-election held?
The by-election followed the resignation of a Labour councillor. Six candidates stood for the vacancy, with polling taking place on Thursday 13 August 2026.
The result gives the Liberal Democrats a district council gain in the parliamentary constituency represented by Liberal Democrat MP Richard Foord. However, turnout was 28.7%, and a single ward result should not automatically be read as evidence of a wider national shift.