Overview
- Voters elected Mac McIntyre Brown to the Wiltshire Council seat and Lawrence Gillies to Salisbury City Council, with both victories declared after Thursday’s by-elections.
- Swindon Advertiser and Salisbury Journal reported the county result as 759 votes for McIntyre Brown and 605 for Conservative Laura Jones, and the city result as 751 votes for Gillies with Jones second.
- The double hold leaves Wiltshire Council’s composition effectively unchanged with the Liberal Democrats reported as having 43 of 98 seats, Conservatives 38, Reform UK 10, and independents/others seven.
- Local leaders framed the outcome as an early public test of the new Lib Dem administration at County Hall and a vote of confidence in continuing the work of the resigning councillor Alan Bayliss.
- Coverage flagged a reporting discrepancy over ballots: one outlet gave 1,663 valid votes cast for the county contest while another reported 4,149 votes cast for the same contests and turnout was listed as 41.19 per cent.