Rift on the Right gifts Andy Burnham another by-election victory as Rupert Lowe 'stitch-up' deepens

Britain's right-wing split has handed Andy Burnham a by-election victory after gaining from Reform UK and beating both Restore Britain and the Tories.

Restore Britain's candidate Alexander McKenzie lost the by-election held on October 15, the only ballot the party fielded a candidate out of yesterday's four contests.

Nigel Farage's party failed to win any of the seats up for grabs, with the Liberal Democrats holding two wards.

Kemi Badenoch's Tories also fell flat of a victory, placing third in two contests and second place in two others.

Shepshed (Leicestershire) 

Labour secured victory in the Leicestershire County Council by-election, in the Shepshed ward.

The by-election was triggered by the resignation of former Reform UK councillor Helen Butler, who quit her seat in August.

Andy Burnham's candidate Jane Lennie secured 1,163 votes, beating Reform UK's Stuart Wood by just 53 votes.

The Conservative candidate Sarah Monk took third place with 819 votes, while Restore Britain's Alexander McKenzie secured just 228 votes - but gained the party 6.8 per cent of the vote.

Bradninch (Mid Devon) 

The Liberal Democrats managed to hold their seat in Bradninch in the Mid Devon Council by-election with over 70 per cent of the vote.

The by-election was triggered after Liberal Democrat Luke Taylor, who was also leader of the council, resigned in August to take up a job transfer in the USA.

Reform UK candidate Liam O’Brien came second with 91 votes and almost 14 per cent of the vote share.

The Tories placed third with their candidate Dirk McFarlane-Aitken third with 37 votes, bumping Piers Martin Kotting of the Labour Party down to fourth, taking just 4.7 per cent of the vote.

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Salisbury Milford (Wiltshire)

The Liberal Democrats also held a second seat after securing victory in the Salisbury Milford by-election in Wiltshire.

The by-election was triggered after Lib Dem Alan Bayliss resigned due to personal reasons.

Conservative candidate Laura Brown came second to Lib Dem Mac Brown with 605 votes.

Reform beat Labour to third place, with candidate Simon Lever securing 189 votes and Labour taking 110 votes.

Higher Kinnerton (Flintshire)

In the Higher Kinnerton ward of Flintshire, the by-election win went to the Flintshire People's Voice party, who gained from an Independent councillor.

The by-election was called after the resignation of Independent councillor Mike Allport.

The Tories and Reform came joint second in the contest, taking just 21 votes each.

Kristina Renshaw of the Heritage Party took third place with 1.6 per cent of the vote.