Many of the contests have a link with the large set of elections held in England, Scotland and Wales on May 7.
Thousands of voters across parts of Britain are about to head back to the polls to choose replacements for dozens of councillors who have stepped down from office – some of whom were first elected as recently as last month.
More than 75 council seats are up for grabs over the next few weeks, in what is an unusually busy period for local democracy.
A handful of by-elections are held on most Thursdays throughout the year to fill seats that have become vacant, typically due to the retirement or death of a councillor.
But the contests coming up in the rest of June and first half of July are notable both for the number, which is well above average, and also the circumstances in which they are taking place.
Many of the by-elections have a link with the large set of elections held in England, Scotland and Wales on May 7, which saw some candidates win seats they were ineligible to hold because of their profession, while others quickly stood down for personal reasons or because they were elected to a different role on the same day.
The Association of Electoral Administrators said “greater clarity and awareness” of rules for prospective candidates would “help reduce avoidable by-elections, the costs of which are borne by local authorities – so ultimately taxpayers.”
There are 77 council seats due to be filled at by-elections between June 18 and July 16, according to official notices on local authority websites.
Press Association analysis of the background to these contests shows that:
– 14 are taking place to fill the seats of councillors elected on May 7 but who resigned soon afterwards for personal or professional reasons;
– 14 are being held to replace councillors who won seats in the Senedd in Wales on May 7 and who subsequently had to resign from their respective councils as they are not allowed to hold two posts at once;
– 10 seats were due to be filled as part of the elections on May 7, but the contests were postponed due to the death of a candidate.
The remaining seats are up for grabs due to long-serving councillors retiring, dying while in office or standing down for other reasons.
Of the 14 contests taking place to replace councillors elected on May 7 who subsequently stood down, nine are in London.
These include the council seats won by Green politicians Zoe Garbett and Liam Shrivastava, both of whom were elected on the same day to serve as mayors of the boroughs of Hackney and Lewisham respectively, and who consequently had to resign as councillors as they were not allowed to hold two posts at once.
Three Green councillors elected on May 7, one each in Camden, Hackney and Haringey, all had to stand down because they were ineligible to carry out the role, two of them because they are teachers.
Local government electoral law states a person is disqualified from standing as a candidate or becoming a councillor if they are already in the paid employment of that council or work as a teacher in a school maintained by that authority.
Two more Green councillors elected on May 7 – one in Ealing, one in Lambeth – stood down shortly afterwards due to ill health, while a new Labour councillor in Haringey resigned for personal reasons.
A further Green councillor elected in Lambeth, Saiqa Ali, had been suspended by her party shortly before polling day over the content of posts on social media, and did not take her seat.
Outside the capital, five by-elections have been triggered by councillors who won seats for Reform UK on May 7 and who subsequently stood down, for reasons to do with health, workload or personal conduct.
They are for seats on Essex County Council, Gateshead borough council, Norfolk County Council, Rochford District Council and St Helens Borough Council.
Two of these seats became vacant following the resignation of Stuart Prior, who was elected to both Rochford and Essex councils on May 7 but who stood down a few days later following claims he posted offensive remarks on social media, while the contest in St Helens is to replace Stephen Mousdell, who resigned after it emerged he had made adult video content.
Peter Stanyon, chief executive of the Association of Electoral Administrators (AEA) which represents and advises election officials, said the spike in contests “largely reflects the scale of the May 7 elections”.
“We’ve raised our concerns with UK, Scottish and Welsh ministers about ineligible candidates standing, and others who resign shortly after election for a range of reasons,” he said.
“Eligibility rules vary between elected bodies, and it’s up to candidates and political parties to make sure they meet them.
“They should also be sure to understand the scope and responsibility of the role they’re standing for.
“Greater clarity and awareness would help reduce avoidable by-elections, the costs of which are borne by local authorities – so ultimately taxpayers.”
There is no fixed cost for a council by-election, but publicly-available data suggests local authorities typically spend between £20,000 to £30,000 per contest.
If the 14 by-elections to fill seats of councillors elected on May 7 each cost £20,000, this would total £280,000.
The AEA pointed out that it is not unusual for local councillors elected to the Scottish Parliament, Senedd or Westminster to subsequently resign their council seat, triggering a by-election – a scenario anticipated by electoral teams at local authorities as part of ongoing planning.
“Each by-election is an important opportunity for voters to have their say about who represents them and their community,” Mr Stanyon added.
