Updated
UK PARLIAMENTARY BY-ELECTION · 1 MAY 2025
Runcorn & Helsby by-election result
Sarah Pochin · Reform UK gain from Labour
Winning vote share38.7%
Reform UK finished 0.0 points ahead of Labour, on 46.2% turnout.
Who won?
Sarah Pochin won for Reform UK. The majority was 6 votes.
Did the seat change hands?
Yes. Reform UK gained the seat from Labour.
Was it a surprise?
Major surprise. Reform overturned Labour's large 2024 majority and won by only six votes after a recount.
WHAT IT TELLS US
Read the local result in context
The result proved Reform could convert national support into a Westminster gain. The six-vote margin also warns against reading a single knife-edge contest as a settled realignment.
A by-election changes one MP. Turnout, candidates and local circumstances can differ sharply from a general election, so this result is not a national voting-intention poll.
SOURCE
Check the published result
Result figures come from UK Parliament or the relevant returning officer. Expected-versus-surprise labels and trend notes are Road to 326 editorial judgements, based on the previous result, vote-share movement and the circumstances of each contest; they are not probabilities or official classifications.