James Henry Dean Hartley of the Liberal Democrats has been elected in the Chesterton and Launton by-election for Oxfordshire County Council.
The victory follows the departure of a Liberal Democrat representative who relocated abroad.
Hartley secured support from 41.7 per cent of voters in the division, building on his party’s previous performance by an additional 8.9 percentage points compared with the 2025 electoral contest.
The Conservative candidate Sandy Lewis Dallimore finished second with 28.9 per cent of votes, representing an improvement on the party’s prior vote share.
Ian Richard Hogson of Reform placed third with 23.2 per cent support, while Labour’s Gregory Michael Fish received 3.2 per cent and the Green Party’s Meri Mosharrafa obtained 3.0 per cent.
Each of these three parties experienced declines in their share of the vote.
The electoral contest was necessary following the resignation of Liberal Democrat councillor Will Boucher-Giles in July.
He stepped down from his position after approximately 18 months in office, citing relocation to Switzerland for family reasons.
Boucher-Giles, who worked as a caterer and chef, was first elected to the authority in May 2025 during what is expected to be the final complete set of elections before the council’s abolition in 2028 as part of local government reorganisation.
His departure temporarily removed the Liberal Democrats’ majority on the council.