Conservatives win Nuthall East & Strelley by-election by just five votes from Reform
The Conservatives have retained the Nuthall East & Strelley seat by just five votes from Refrom UK in the Broxtowe Council by-election.
Judy Couch won the seat for the Torie with 405 votes, as Reform UK candidate Neil Isted polled 400 votes.
The by-election came after the previous Conservative councillor, Graham Hills, resigned in July.
The Conservatives have represented the ward for 14 years, with two Conservative councillors elected for the area in the previous four council elections dating back to 2011.
But this by-election came at a time of significant political changes in the borough and the county, leaving some questioning whether the Tories would maintain their grip on the ward.
Between 2015 and 2023, the authority has changed hands from the Conservatives to a Labour and Liberal Democrat coalition and then full Labour control.
A further political shift happened within the authority in the first part of 2025, when 20 Labour councillors quit the party in protest of policies under Keir Starmer’s Government to form their own independent group – now known as Broxtowe Alliance – on January 2.
There have also been huge shifts at the county level, where Reform UK won the majority of seats in May’s Nottinghamshire Council elections, gaining 41 out of 66 seats.
The party won six out of Broxtowe’s nine county seats.
Mr Isted previously stood in the county council election for the Beeston Central Rylands division and came in third place.
Ms Couch said: “I am proud to have held onto this Conservative seat in what has been a very tight race.
I believe my win is due to my messages of opposing Broxtowe joining Nottingham city, providing safer roads and demanding tougher reviews of planning decisions resonating with local residents.
“Being a local resident myself, having lived the majority of my life in Nuthall, I am best placed to know what issues local people are facing and that came through to voters.”
The full results were:
Judy Couch (Cons) – 405
Tyrone Gall (Ind) – 21
Rachel Gravett (Green) – 70
Neil Isted (Ref) – 400
Graham Lambert (Brox All) – 275
Domenica Lopinto (Lab) – 244
The council is now made up of 19 Broxtowe Alliance councillors, 10 Conservatives, seven Labour, five from the Broxtowe Independent Group, and three Liberal Democrats.