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  "path": "/politics/reform-uk-party-nigel-farage-labour",
  "publishedAt": "2026-02-13T14:50:25.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.gbnews.com",
  "tags": [
    "Membership",
    "topped the polls",
    "Panic stations for Keir Starmer as Reform secures win in Labour heartland amid mounting fury over election delays",
    "Dismal night of by-elections yields just one consolation prize for Labour as Lib Dems triumph",
    "Labour's stronghold crumbles in double election blow as Keir Starmer rocked by shock result - but who won?",
    "The GB News Editorial Charter"
  ],
  "textContent": "\n\n\nReform has gained its first councillor at Peterborough City Council after a resounding by-election victory on Thursday.\n\nNigel Farage’s party took the seat from Labour, which has been haemorrhaging support since its landslide victory in July 2024 and whose leader, Keir Starmer, faces mounting pressure over appointing Peter Mandelson as US ambassador.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nReform, which will seek to build on this momentum going into the May elections, is not the only party that had a good day at the ballot box.\n\nFrom Peterborough to Pembrokeshire, GB News has taken a closer look at each of the by-elections.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n### Fletton and Woodston\n\n\n\n\nIn Cambridgeshire, the Fletton and Woodston ward in Peterborough City was won by Reform, with Andrew O’Neil becoming the first councillor from Nigel Farage's party on the council.\n\nEd Murphy from the Green Party came second on 529 votes, with Tory candidate Andrew Willey in third on 419 votes.\n\nHarvey Woodhouse from Labour got 323 votes, while Neil Walton from the Lib Dems came in last with 84 votes.\n\nReturning Officer Adrian Chapman confirmed the turnout for the by-election was 25.22 per cent, with 1,926 votes cast.\n\nA Reform spokesman said: \"Congratulations to Cllr Andrew O’Neil on winning his seat from Labour last night. We have won more council by-elections this year than any other party.\"\n\nThe council is run by a minority Labour administration, with 13 councillors.\n\nOn a parliamentary level, the ward sits within the North West Cambridgeshire constituency, represented by Labour MP Sam Carling, who won the seat off the Conservatives in 2024 by a very slim majority of just 39.\n\nThe by-election was triggered by the death of Labour councillor Nick Thulbourn, who passed away in December 2025.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n### Fishbourne North East (Pembrokeshire)\n\n\n\n\nPlaid Cymru's Billy Shaw was announced as the newly elected councillor to Pembrokeshire County Council after winning 33.8 per cent of the vote (253 votes).\n\nThe result saw the Welsh nationalist party win a 118-vote majority over the Lib Dem runner-up.\n\nEd Davey's party took home 18 per cent of the vote (135 votes), while Reform UK came in third with 12.7 per cent (95 votes).\n\nReform's third-place ranking comes after Nigel Farage's party topped the polls in the Ynys Gybi (Ynys Môn) by-election last Thursday in the Isle of Anglesey, gaining a previously held Plaid Cymru seat.\n\nIndependent candidate Teresa Ruth Tannahill came in fifth, with 79 votes, representing 10.5 per cent of the vote share. The Conservative Party came in a distant sixth with 9.2 per cent (69 votes).\n\nBrian Andrew Murphy's result for the Welsh Tory party marked a 31.9 per cent drop in vote share compared to the results of the 2022 contest.\n\nComing in last place was independent Adrian John Tyrrell with 35 votes (4.7 per cent).#\n\nPlaid's leader Rhun ap Iorwerth, said: \"Big win for Billy Shaw - a real community champion. Labour’s time is up. For too long, they’ve let Wales down.\n\n\"Plaid Cymru’s positive vision offers Wales a fresh start, and we can stop Reform in its tracks. Let’s deliver that new leadership for Wales together in May!\"\n\n### LATEST DEVELOPMENTS\n\n\n\n\n  * Panic stations for Keir Starmer as Reform secures win in Labour heartland amid mounting fury over election delays\n  * Dismal night of by-elections yields just one consolation prize for Labour as Lib Dems triumph\n  * Labour's stronghold crumbles in double election blow as Keir Starmer rocked by shock result - but who won?\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n### Worth Valley\n\n\n\n\nThe Conservatives swept the Worth Valley by-election on Bradford City Council, winning nearly twice as many votes as Reform.\n\n\n\nThe Tories won the seat on 52 per cent of the vote, with Reform trailing in second place on 26 per cent and Labour a distant third on 12.\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n**Our Standards:The GB News Editorial Charter **",
  "title": "Reform secures first seat on council in crushing defeat for Labour as PM fights for his political life"
}