Voters in St Neots Eynesbury are heading to the polls today to elect a new member of Huntingdonshire District Council.
The by-election on Thursday 20 August 2026 is being held following the resignation of Reform UK councillor Tony Nelson, who had been elected only a few weeks earlier at May's full council elections.
One district council seat is being contested. Polling stations are open from 7am until 10pm, with voters attending in person required to present an accepted form of photographic identification.
Why is the by-election taking place?
Nelson was elected as one of three councillors for St Neots Eynesbury on 7 May. He subsequently resigned from Huntingdonshire District Council at the end of June, with reports indicating that he stepped down for personal reasons.
The council then published a notice of vacancy and made arrangements for the seat to be filled through a by-election.
Reform defending a newly won seat
Reform UK begins the contest as the defending party. Nelson received 978 votes in May, the highest individual total recorded in the three-member ward.
Independent candidate Sam Smith was also elected with 944 votes, while Reform UK's Ricky Ioannides secured the third available seat with 938 votes.
A further Reform candidate, Pavlos Kasdovasilis, received 830 votes but was not elected. Ian Taylor, then standing as an independent, received 698 votes. The Liberal Democrats' strongest candidate received 653 votes, while the leading Green candidate secured 649.
Turnout at the May election was 35.04 per cent. Because voters could support more than one candidate in that three-seat contest, the individual totals should not be treated as equivalent to party vote shares in today's single-seat by-election.
What does Huntingdonshire District Council do?
Huntingdonshire District Council is responsible for local services including planning, housing, waste collection, environmental health and leisure provision.
St Neots Eynesbury is a three-member district ward covering Eynesbury, an area of St Neots in Cambridgeshire.
The result is expected after polls close. This article will be updated when Huntingdonshire District Council publishes the official declaration.