Reform UK has won its first seat on Cardiff Council, comfortably gaining the Trowbridge ward in a by-election held on 18 September 2025. The seat became vacant after former Labour councillor Chris Lay resigned, having moved to Telford, Shropshire for work.
Edward Topham stood for Reform UK and secured 1,142 votes, about 40 per cent of the vote, enough to take the seat. Liberal Democrat candidate Chris Cogger came second with 681 votes (24 per cent), followed by Labour’s Gary Bowen-Thomson with 615 votes (21 per cent). Plaid Cymru and the Conservatives trailed behind.
The result marks a sharp reversal from the last full Cardiff Council election in 2022, when Labour won all three seats in this ward by clear margins.
For Labour this is another disappointment after recent by-elections where the party has struggled: though it held a seat in Llanrumney in July with Reform closely behind, it lost to the Green Party in Grangetown in August.
Next year Welsh voters will head to the polls in May 2026 for Senedd elections, which under recent reforms will feature 96 members elected through a new proportional representation system.
