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Key takeaways from Milton Keynes and Herts polls

Martin HeathBuckinghamshire and Hertfordshire political reporter
News imageLouis Brand/BBC Smartly-dressed men and women with Reform UK rosettes pinned on their jackets. They are clapping and smiling. There is a hand holding a phone taking a picture on the far right.Louis Brand/BBC
Reform UK had some gains but were not as successful in Milton Keynes and Hertfordshire as they were expecting

There was something for almost everyone in the Milton Keynes and Hertfordshire local elections.

Reform UK and the Liberal Democrats did well in Milton Keynes and the Conservatives unexpectedly made some gains.

Even Labour did not suffer quite as badly as some expected.

Here are five things we learned from Thursday's voting.

Milton Keynes bucks the national trend

News imageLouis Brand/BBC A woman with long brown hair wearing a creme-coloured jacket over a blue and white striped shirt with a blue scarf and a Reform UK rosette. She is smiling at the camera with people at an election count behind her.Louis Brand/BBC
Millie Rook was one of nine victorious Reform UK candidates in Milton Keynes

Reform has a presence on Milton Keynes City Council for the first time, picking up nine seats.

But, unlike their performance in places like Barnsley, Wakefield, Sunderland and Gateshead, they did not take control.

The Liberal Democrats nudged in front of Labour to become Milton Keynes City Council's largest party by one seat.

Switching parties may not be a good idea

News imageMartin Heath/BBC Larry Crofton with brown hair tied at the back and a short brown beard. He is wearing a beige fleece, and standing next to Lucy Musk who has medium-length blue hair and is wearing a dark jacket and blue necklace. They are both smiling at the camera at an election count with a queue of people behind.Martin Heath/BBC
Green councillors Larry Crofton and Lucy Musk both lost their seats in Welwyn Hatfield

Some of the councillors who were standing this year had originally been elected for one party but had crossed over to another.

Lucy Musk and Larry Crofton both lost their seats in Welwyn Hatfield, having defected from Labour to the Green party.

Crofton's seat went to Labour, while Musk's was nabbed by Reform UK.

Mason Humberstone was hoping to be elected for the first time in Stevenage under the Reform flag, having defected from Labour.

But voters had other ideas, and the Labour candidate beat him by 33 votes.

The protest against the last Tory government has faded

News imageMartin Heath/BBC Two men and a woman in blue jackets with Conservative rosettes smiling and clapping at an election count with wooden tables for counting behind them.Martin Heath/BBC
Conservatives in Welwyn Hatfield celebrated winning an extra seat

It might seem hard to believe that the Labour landslide that saw Rishi Sunak's government destroyed by a frustrated electorate took place just two years ago.

But this year's results in Milton Keynes and Hertfordshire suggest the Tories may have been partially forgiven, picking up three more seats in Milton Keynes than in 2024.

In Hertfordshire, the Tories collected three extra seats in Three Rivers and one more in Welwyn Hatfield and St Albans.

Reform UK is unlikely to have much influence in Hertfordshire

News imagePA Media Nigel Farage dressed in a blue suit holds a Vote Reform sign towards a group of people sitting outdoors in a town centre. A candidate sporting a blue rosette is standing next to him.PA Media
Nigel Farage visited Broxbourne during the campaign

The "historic shift in British politics" that has taken place elsewhere as a result of gains by Reform UK has not been experienced in Hertfordshire.

The party finished the election with no seats in Three Rivers, Watford or St Albans.

It did pick up nine extra seats in Stevenage but got nowhere near the Labour group's total.

It gained its first three places on Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council but lost a seat to the Conservatives in a county council by-election.

It could only manage one extra seat in Broxbourne.

People turn out to vote for doomed councils

News imageNicola Haseler/BBC An election count with counters sitting behind long wooden tables. There are signs on poles indicating the wards that are being counted. There are some people walking round the outside of the tables.Nicola Haseler/BBC
The whole voting and counting process this year was set up to elect councillors for just two years

Amid the noise of the campaigning, you might be forgiven for forgetting one crucial fact.

The councillors elected on Thursday are likely to remain in post for just two years.

The government plans to abolish the county, district and borough councils in Hertfordshire and replace them with a smaller number of all-purpose authorities.

There will be more elections next year to appoint a shadow council to run the new bodies.

But turnout was unusually high, the highest in a decade in Milton Keynes at 40.72%.

About 37% of the electorate took part in what is likely to be the final Watford mayor poll before the post is abolished.

Many of the other councils had figures of over 40%.

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