Status: Candidates confirmed — polling day is Thursday 20 August 2026. Result awaiting declaration.
Voters in Leen Valley will choose a new Nottingham city councillor on Thursday 20 August after former councillor Nadia Farhat was disqualified for failing to attend a qualifying council meeting for six months.
Six candidates are standing in the single-seat contest. Labour won the vacant seat at the 2023 election, although Farhat subsequently left the party and sat as an independent.
When is the Leen Valley Ward by-election?
The Leen Valley Ward by-election will take place on Thursday 20 August 2026. Polling stations will be open from 7am until 10pm.
The election will fill one of the ward's two seats on Nottingham City Council.
Why is there a by-election in Leen Valley?
The vacancy arose after Nadia Farhat automatically ceased to be a councillor under Section 85 of the Local Government Act 1972.
The legislation provides that a councillor who fails to attend a qualifying meeting for six consecutive months ceases to be a member of the authority unless the council approved the absence before the six-month period expired.
Nottingham City Council said Farhat last attended a qualifying meeting on 12 January 2026. Apologies were submitted for meetings in March and May, and the council wrote to her on 22 May to remind her of the attendance requirement.
According to the council's monitoring officer, no response was received until 22 June and Farhat did not attend another qualifying meeting within the required period. Her disqualification was therefore automatic and the council declared the seat vacant.
Farhat was elected for Labour in May 2023 but left the party in October of that year and subsequently sat as an independent.
Who is standing in the Leen Valley Ward by-election?
The six confirmed candidates are:
| Candidate | Party or description |
| Parveen Begum | Nottingham People's Alliance |
| Stuart Andrew Frost | Reform UK |
| Abbas Hussain | Labour Party |
| Hugh McGuinness | Green Party |
| Liz Morgan-Danvers | Liberal Democrats |
| Gail Janise Stancliffe | Conservative Party |
Leen Valley Ward by-election result
Awaiting declaration. This page will be updated with the official vote totals, vote shares, turnout and winning majority once Nottingham City Council declares the result.
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share |
| Parveen Begum | Nottingham People's Alliance | Awaiting declaration | — |
| Stuart Andrew Frost | Reform UK | Awaiting declaration | — |
| Abbas Hussain | Labour | Awaiting declaration | — |
| Hugh McGuinness | Green | Awaiting declaration | — |
| Liz Morgan-Danvers | Liberal Democrats | Awaiting declaration | — |
| Gail Janise Stancliffe | Conservative | Awaiting declaration | — |
What happened in Leen Valley in 2023?
Labour won both Leen Valley seats at the May 2023 Nottingham City Council election. Audrey Dinnall led the poll with 1,416 votes, followed by Nadia Farhat with 1,338.
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Result |
| Audrey Jane Dinnall | Labour | 1,416 | Elected |
| Nadia Farhat | Labour | 1,338 | Elected |
| David Peter Robert Gibson | Conservative | 476 | Not elected |
| Gail Janise Stancliffe | Conservative | 372 | Not elected |
| Gary Long | Liberal Democrats | 309 | Not elected |
| Christina Morgan-Danvers | Liberal Democrats | 224 | Not elected |
The ward had an electorate of 6,843. A total of 2,198 ballot papers were issued and seven were rejected, producing an official turnout of 32%.
The 2023 contest filled two seats and voters could support as many as two candidates. This by-election fills one seat and each voter has one vote, meaning the earlier totals are useful context but are not directly comparable with the forthcoming result.
Why does the Leen Valley result matter?
Labour retains a commanding majority on Nottingham City Council, so the by-election will not decide control of the authority. The council's published political make-up lists 43 Labour councillors, six members of the Nottingham People's Alliance group and four members of the Nottingham Independents and Independent group.
The result will nevertheless provide a test of Labour's strength in a ward it comfortably won in 2023. It will also be an electoral test for the Nottingham People's Alliance, which was formed by councillors who had left Labour and is now the largest opposition group at the council.
Conservative candidate Gail Stancliffe also stood in Leen Valley at the 2023 council election, when she received 372 votes.
How will the winner be elected?
The by-election uses first past the post. Voters select one candidate, and the person receiving the most votes becomes the new councillor. The winner does not need to receive more than half of all votes cast.
Important dates for voters
- Register to vote: Tuesday 4 August 2026.
- Apply for a postal vote: 5pm on Wednesday 5 August 2026.
- Apply for a proxy vote: 5pm on Wednesday 12 August 2026.
- Polling day: Thursday 20 August 2026, from 7am until 10pm.
People voting in person must take an accepted form of photographic identification. A polling card is helpful but is not required.
When will the Leen Valley result be announced?
Nottingham City Council has not published a firm expected declaration time. The official figures will be added to this page once the result has been declared.
Last updated: 2 August 2026.