A Rodborough by-election will be held on Tuesday 13 October after Councillor Katy Hofmann resigned. Nominations close 16 September, registration 25 September.

Rodborough will elect a district councillor on Tuesday 13 October. Stroud District Council published the notice of election on Tuesday 8 September, after the resignation of Councillor Katy Hofmann.

It is the district’s second by-election in six weeks. Kingswood voted on 2 September.

The dates that matter

Every deadline is set out in the notice of election, signed by returning officer Kathy O’Leary.

  • Wednesday 16 September, 4pm. Nomination papers must reach the returning officer at Ebley Mill. Papers are available there or by emailing elections@stroud.gov.uk.
  • Friday 25 September, midnight. Deadline to register to vote, online at gov.uk/register-to-vote or on paper.
  • Monday 28 September, 5pm. Deadline to apply for, change or cancel a postal vote.
  • Monday 5 October, 5pm. Deadline for a proxy vote, and for a Voter Authority Certificate if you have no accepted photo ID.
  • Tuesday 13 October. Polling day, if the election is contested.
Timeline of the Rodborough by-election: nominations close 4pm on 16 September, registration closes at midnight on 25 September, postal vote applications close 5pm on 28 September, proxy and voter ID applications close 5pm on 5 October, and the poll is on 13 October 2026
The five deadlines in the Rodborough by-election. Source: Stroud District Council notice of election, 8 September 2026. Graphic by Stroud Today.

Photo ID is required to vote in person. If you already hold an accepted form of ID, you do not need to do anything before polling day.

Why the seat is vacant

The council published a notice of vacancy on Tuesday 1 September. It says a casual vacancy arose “following the resignation of Councillor Katy Hofmann”, under section 87(2)(b) of the Local Government Act 1972.

That notice does not automatically trigger a poll. Two local government electors have to write to the returning officer asking for one, and the election must then be held within 35 days, excluding weekends and bank holidays. The notice of election published a week later shows that request was made.

A ward Labour won narrowly in 2024

Rodborough has two district seats, and Labour holds both. At the all-out election on 2 May 2024 the declaration of result recorded:

  • PRENTER, Nigel Andrew, Labour Party, 602 votes, elected
  • HOFMANN, Cathryn Elizabeth, Labour Party, 576 votes, elected
  • HILLARY, Elizabeth, Green Party, 539
  • BLOMBERG, Philip Sven, Green Party, 505
  • LAYFIELD, Robin Mark Hesketh, Independent, 450
  • ELLIOTT-BOULT, Helen Clare, Independent, 303
  • JONES, Sarah, Conservative Party, 193
  • WHITTAKER, Thomas James, Conservative Party, 169

Thirty-seven votes separated the second Labour candidate from the leading Green. The ward had 3,535 electors, 1,745 ballot papers were issued and turnout was 49.36%. Five papers were rejected as unmarked or void for uncertainty. A single-seat by-election on a Tuesday in October is a different contest, and Kingswood’s turnout last week was 37.3%.

Councillor Nigel Prenter continues to represent the ward. The candidate elected as Cathryn Elizabeth Hofmann in 2024 is the Councillor Katy Hofmann named in the vacancy notice.

The most recent county-level vote in the area was closer still. In the Rodborough division at the Gloucestershire County Council election on 1 May 2025, the Green Party’s Craig Horrocks beat Labour’s John Bloxsom by 12 votes, 1,150 to 1,138, with Reform UK third on 850. The county division is a larger area than the district ward, with 9,807 electors and a turnout of 37.4%.

What the result changes at Ebley Mill

Stroud District Council has 51 councillors, elected every four years. Its member index listed 50 in post on 9 September, with the Rodborough seat vacant: 24 Green, 14 Labour, two Labour and Co-operative, six Conservative, two Independent, one Liberal Democrat and one with no party recorded. The Greens are comfortably the largest group, and one seat will not change that.

The wider question of how long the council itself lasts is now open. Ministers paused the reorganisation of Gloucestershire’s seven councils on 7 September, which puts the planned closure of the district council in April 2028 under review with no reporting date.

What it means for you

Check you are registered before 25 September. Registration is not automatic, and a new poll uses the register as it stands on that date. You can register in about five minutes at gov.uk/register-to-vote.

If you want a postal vote, apply by 28 September. That is three days after the registration deadline, and it catches people out.

Sort photo ID by 5 October. A Voter Authority Certificate is free, and 5 October at 5pm is the last moment to apply for one that is valid for this election.

Nothing about your services changes. The ward’s other councillor stays in post, and the council continues to run bin collections, council tax and planning decisions as normal.

We will publish the list of candidates once nominations close on 16 September, and the result on the night of 13 October.