Fred Hulls won Kingswood for the Liberal Democrats with 442 of 691 votes on 2 September. Turnout fell to 37.3%, and Reform UK took third at its first attempt.

Fred Hulls has been elected to Stroud District Council for the Kingswood ward. The Liberal Democrat took 442 of the 691 votes cast in Wednesday’s by-election, and the returning officer declared the result the same night.

Kingswood is in the far south of the district, about 11 miles from Stroud town and a mile from Wotton-under-Edge. The ward also covers Hillesley and Tresham.

The declaration of result, signed by returning officer Kathy O’Leary, records the full poll:

  • HULLS, Fred, Liberal Democrats, 442 votes, elected
  • TANDY, Louise Jane, Local Conservatives, 109
  • REES, Michael Alun, Reform UK, 70
  • LIDDELL, Alasdair, Green Party, 40
  • COOK, Claire Louise, Labour Party, 30

Not one ballot paper was rejected. The declaration lists zero in all four categories: want of official mark, voting for too many candidates, an identifying mark, and being unmarked or void for uncertainty. That is unusual. At the 2024 election in the same ward, three papers were thrown out.

The Liberal Democrat vote fell by 18 points

The seat has been Liberal Democrat since the 2024 all-out election, when Holly Simkiss won it with 689 votes. It became vacant in July. The council’s notice of vacancy, dated 24 July, says only that a casual vacancy had arisen “following a resignation”.

Comparing the two declarations shows how much the shape of the vote changed in 28 months.

Share of the vote in Kingswood ward, 2024 and 2026 Grouped horizontal bars comparing each party's share of the valid vote in the Kingswood ward of Stroud District Council. In the by-election of 2 September 2026 the Liberal Democrats took 64.0 per cent, Local Conservatives 15.8, Reform UK 10.1, the Green Party 5.8 and Labour 4.3. At the all-out election of 2 May 2024 the Liberal Democrats took 82.0 per cent, the Conservatives 9.4, the Green Party 4.8 and Labour 3.8. Reform UK did not stand in 2024. The Liberal Democrat share fell 18 points, and Reform arrived at 10 Share of the valid vote in Kingswood ward, Stroud District Council. By-election, 2 September 2026 All-out election, 2 May 2024 Liberal Democrats Local Conservatives Reform UK Green Party Labour 64.0% 82.0% 15.8% 9.4% 10.1% 5.8% 4.8% 4.3% 3.8% did not stand in 2024 Source: Stroud District Council declarations of result, 2 May 2024 and 2 September 2026. Graphic by Stroud Today.
The Liberal Democrats held Kingswood comfortably, but on a smaller share of a smaller vote.

In 2024 the Liberal Democrats took 689 of 840 valid votes, 82.0%. On Wednesday they took 442 of 691, 64.0%. That is a fall of 18 points, and 247 fewer votes, on a seat they still won by more than four to one over the runner-up.

The Conservative share rose from 9.4% to 15.8%. Reform UK did not contest Kingswood in 2024. On its first attempt it took 70 votes, 10.1%, and third place.

The Green Party polled exactly 40 votes on both occasions, which lifted its share slightly, from 4.8% to 5.8% of a smaller total. Labour went from 32 votes to 30, and from 3.8% to 4.3%.

Turnout fell, but not by as much as the calendar suggests

Turnout was 37.3%, against 45.77% in May 2024. The electorate barely moved, from 1,842 to 1,853, so the drop is real: 691 papers issued rather than 843, a fall of 152.

That is a respectable figure for a single-seat by-election held on a Wednesday in September, with no other contest on the ballot. It is worth remembering that the 2024 poll was an all-out district election held on the same day as parish elections and a Police and Crime Commissioner vote.

What it does to the council

Stroud District Council has 51 seats. Its own councillor list, which we checked on 6 September and which had not yet been updated for Wednesday’s result, showed 49 sitting members and two vacancies:

  • Green Party, 24
  • Labour, 14
  • Conservative and Unionist Party, 6
  • Independent, 2
  • Labour and Cooperative, 2
  • Liberal Democrats, 1

Fred Hulls doubles the Liberal Democrat group from one to two, and takes the council to 50 of 51 seats filled. The Greens remain much the largest group and lead the council.

The Rodborough ward vacancy is still open. The council’s own page lists it alongside the Kingswood one but gives no election date, and no notice of a Rodborough poll has been published on the elections pages. Under the Local Government Act 1972 a by-election is only called if two electors write to the returning officer asking for one, which is what happened in Kingswood.

A short term

Whoever holds a Stroud district seat now holds it for about 19 months. The council is abolished on 1 April 2028 and replaced by a single Gloucestershire Council covering the whole county. The councillors who set that authority up will be chosen at shadow authority elections on 6 May 2027, not at any further district poll.

What it means for you

  • If you live in Kingswood, Hillesley or Tresham, you have a district councillor again for the first time since July. Contact details for every member are on the council’s councillor list.
  • If you live in Rodborough, you do not. That seat is still vacant and no poll has been called.
  • District council business continues as normal until 1 April 2028. Bins, planning and council tax billing all stay with Stroud District Council until then. Our pages on bin collection days, council tax bands and planning are unchanged.
  • The next scheduled vote in the district is the shadow authority election on 6 May 2027.

Sources

We previewed this poll on the day: Kingswood by-election: polls open until 10pm today.