Reform UK has gained another council seat from Labour after winning the Eckington South & Renishaw by-election in North East Derbyshire.
Reform candidate Jamie Hodgson secured 40.2% of the vote in Thursday's contest, finishing comfortably ahead of Labour on 28.1%.
The Conservatives finished third with 21.6%, while an independent candidate received 5.2% and the Green Party took 4.9%.
The result represents a significant reversal for Labour in a ward where the party won all three available council seats at the last full district elections in 2023.
Reform gains Labour seat
The by-election was triggered by the resignation of Labour councillor Stuart Fawcett, who had been elected to North East Derbyshire District Council in May 2023.
Five candidates contested the vacant seat: Reform UK's Jamie Hodgson, Labour's David Landall, Conservative Philip Wheelhouse, Green candidate Hannah Jane Court and independent Jackie Foster.
Hodgson's victory gives Reform UK another representative on North East Derbyshire District Council and comes after the party made significant gains in Derbyshire at the 2025 county council elections.
Hodgson was already a Derbyshire county councillor, having been elected in the overlapping Eckington & Coal Aston division.
Labour vote falls sharply
The scale of the change since the ward last went to the polls will be of particular concern to Labour.
At the 2023 district council elections, Labour won all three seats in Eckington South & Renishaw.
Labour's leading candidate at that election received 58.4% of the vote, while Fawcett himself received 46.8%.
In Thursday's by-election, Labour's share stood at just 28.1%.
Reform UK, which did not contest the ward at the 2023 district elections, entered the contest and immediately secured 40.2%.
The Conservatives also suffered a substantial decline compared with their performance in the ward in 2023.
Reform builds on Derbyshire success
The result follows Reform UK's strong performance in Derbyshire at the 2025 county council elections.
Both county divisions covering parts of the district ward were won by Reform at those elections, providing an indication that the political landscape in the area had shifted significantly since Labour's district council success two years earlier.
The Eckington South & Renishaw result now converts that support into another district council seat.
North East Derbyshire District Council had already been operating under Labour minority control before Thursday's contest.
The result will therefore attract attention beyond the ward itself as the parties assess whether Reform's gains in the 2025 local elections are being sustained in subsequent council contests.
Full percentage result
Reform UK — 40.2%
Labour — 28.1%
Conservative — 21.6%
Independent — 5.2%
Green — 4.9%
Reform UK GAIN from Labour
The next scheduled full elections to North East Derbyshire District Council are due in 2027.