The Green Party has secured its first council seat in Dover, Kent, a region central to the Channel migrant issue, following a by-election where the vote was divided among right-wing contenders. Ingrid Dodd won the seat for Zack Polanski's Green Party by just 34 votes over Reform UK candidate James Defriend.
Restore Britain, led by Rupert Lowe, saw its candidate Jeremy 'Jez' Hermer secure nearly 300 votes, placing fifth. The Conservative Party, which had held the seat for many years, finished third. The fragmentation of the right-wing vote is seen as a key factor that allowed the Green Party to achieve a narrow victory.
Hermer commented on the outcome, stating that the result met their expectations, exceeding their polling numbers from a previous mayoral election. "It is those incremental steps that we're looking for," he told Kent Online, adding, "Of course, we would have liked to win, but it wasn't to be. To be honest, I thought Reform would win, but I'll take the result quite happily."
Lowe, a former Reform MP, posted on X that his party is growing and intends to contest more elections. "To those who screech that those voters arrogantly belong to someone else? I say this. Earn it," he wrote. He also indicated that he had offered to collaborate with Reform on policy, but the offer was refused by Reform's leadership, a decision he respects.
In a separate local by-election, the Labour Party retained a seat on Wandsworth Council in southwest London. The Trinity ward was won by Labour's Shirin Georgiani by 127 votes against the Conservative candidate Otto Jacobsson. Reform UK's Josh Stanton received 51 votes.
Wandsworth Council, historically associated with former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's local government reforms, was first won by Labour in 2022 after nearly five decades. However, the Conservatives had been operating a minority administration since last year. A victory in this by-election would have provided Kemi Badenoch's party with a clear majority.