A low-profile by-election in rural Staffordshire may signal a shift that’s gone largely unnoticed.
On July 17, voters in the small Staffordshire town of Eccleshall went to the polls to elect a new county councillor, following the resignation of Reform UK’s Wayne Titley, just two weeks after he was elected in May’s local elections. Titley was part of a sweeping Reform success that saw the party take control of Staffordshire County Council in the May local elections. But he quickly stepped down amid a backlash over a Facebook post in which he called for the Navy to intercept small boats attempting to reach Britain and use a “volley of gun fire aimed at sinking them.”
Reform stood by Titley and said he had stepped down because he had faced personal abuse.
On a visit to Stafford last month, Farage was asked about whether he considered the cost of this by-election, about £27,000 in taxpayers’ money, “wasteful spending”.
He said: “It’s unfortunate. This guy said some things on social media he shouldn’t have said, as a result of that came under some pretty abusive online pressure, and would rather it hadn’t happened.”
In the Eccleshall contest, Conservative candidate Jeremy Pert won with 1,689 votes (44.4%). But the standout result came from the Green Party, which secured second place with 1,037 votes (27.3%), beating Reform (938 votes, 24.7%) into third. Labour trailed with just 140 votes (3.7%). The voter turnout was 34.8%.
The Greens’ strong second-place showing ahead of Reform has sparked quiet questions, as well as cautious optimism, among progressive observers.
“The tide is turning,” one commenter noted. “Green Party beats Reform for second place.”
Another asked, “Why do we think this is?”
A third replied: “I wish I knew, because I’d make sure it’s repeated everywhere. Maybe people are waking up.”
Not every result might make the headlines, but some might matter more than they seem.
Image credit: Election Maps UK – X
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