The Green Party has secured a significant victory in a Kent County Council by-election, capturing a seat that became vacant after the previous Reform UK councillor was sentenced to prison.
Rob Yates, a 39-year-old offshore wind farmer and current Thanet District Council member, won the Cliftonville division with nearly 39% of the vote in Thursday's election. The by-election was triggered when former councillor Daniel Taylor, 35, from Margate, received a 12-month prison sentence in February after admitting to controlling or coercive behavior toward his wife.
Taylor had originally won the seat for Reform UK in the 2025 local elections but was suspended by the party shortly afterward and sat as an independent until his sentencing.
"This result shows that across Kent and across the country the Greens are the antidote to Reform," Yates declared following his victory.
Mark Hood, leader of Kent County Council's Green Group, called the outcome "seismic" for both the county and the nation.
"Reform lost this seat after less than a year due to their dismal record of failure, chaos and managed decline running Kent County Council," Hood stated. "The defeat is a major embarrassment for Nigel Farage."
Reform UK had gained control of Kent County Council in May last year with 57 out of 81 seats but now holds 47 following this loss.
Kent County Council leader Linden Kemkaren, of Reform UK, thanked voters on social media and praised party candidate Marc Rattigan as "fantastic," adding that he "could not have done any more or worked any harder."
"Naturally, the result is not what we wanted, but we are proud that we ran a clean and positive campaign throughout," Kemkaren wrote.
The final vote breakdown was:
- Rob Yates, Green Party: 38.9%
- Marc Rattigan, Reform UK: 33.1%
- Charlie Leys, Conservative: 15.2%
- Joanne Bright, Labour: 10.4%
- Lucy Gray, Independent: 1.3%
- Mo Shafaei, Liberal Democrats: 1.2%