Live blog: Lib Dems win both town and district seats in Thatcham North East by-elections
Our reporter Mirek Gosney and photographer Phil Cannings reported live from the count as the results came in.
Read how it went below.
12.25am
And that’s it folks! The Lib Dems have won the Thatcham North East by-elections.
Be sure to keep updated on all the political happenings in the local area by checking the newburytoday website, subscribing to our daily newsletter The Briefing or by picking up your copy of the Newbury Weekly News each Thursday.
Or better yet, why not do all three!
12.02am
The district by-election results are in!
Tom McCann wins for the Lib Dems with 690 votes.
Dominic Parry (Conservative) wins 428 votes, Alfred Stokes (Reform UK) won 367 votes, Michael Wakelyn-Green (Green) won 127 votes and Lee Allen (Labour) won 65 votes.
Mr McCann said: “Ladies and gentlemen, thank you everyone for coming here this evening and giving up your precious time.”
He also thanked all staff, voters and party members for their support.
11.56pm
The results for the town council are in!
Mark Thomas wins for the Lib Dems with 738 votes.
Louis Clement (Conservative) won 407 votes, Gary Clark (Reform UK) won 386 votes and Mike Brook (Labour) won 51 votes.
Speaking after his victory, Mr Thomas said: “Thank you to the Lib Dems and our team who worked tirelessly and to the election staff and the returning officer for a fair election.”
11.48pm
We’ve heard it’s a close match between two parties! It won’t be long until we find out the results.
But until we know for sure, we’ve been people watching.
There are several representatives from all the relevant political parties here tonight. Among them is West Berkshire Council leader Jeff Brooks, former councillor and Newbury MP Lee Dillon, deputy leader of the Conservatives Dominic Boeck and last year’s Labour parliamentary candidate Liz Bell.
11.13pm
We can confirm there has been a 29.1 per cent turnout in the district by-election with 1,679 ballot papers verified. Two were rejected.
And there was a 29.4 per cent turnout in the town by-election with 1,587 ballot papers verified. Five were rejected.
11pm
The team are now verifying the postal votes.
10.54pm
The count is still underway.
While you’re waiting, why not find out more about the candidates standing at the links below.
READ MORE: ‘Patriotic environmentalist’ goes for Thatcham NE council seat
READ MORE: Lib Dems announce candidates for Thatcham by-elections
READ MORE: Reform UK puts up two candidates for Thatcham council by-elections
10.36pm
The count team are now verifying the second of the five ballot boxes. The count is about to begin!
10.25pm
Good evening. We have now been permitted entry inside Frank Hutchings Community Hall in Thatcham waiting for the election count to begin.
Counters are now verifying the votes, which could take up to an hour.
Returning Officer Jospeh Holmes welcomed everyone and acknowledged some voters had encountered issues with registering their votes via the QR system earlier this evening.
9.17pm
Good evening. There is less than an hour to go until the election count begins for the Thatcham North East by-elections.
There are two seats up for grabs as a result of MP Lee Dillon stepping down from Thatcham Town Council and West Berkshire Council to focus on being an MP.
There are five candidates standing in the district by-election and four in the town council one.
