Reform Wins First Cheltenham Council Seat in Cheltenham Local Elections 2026

Reform won its first seat on Cheltenham council as counting finished in cheltenham local elections 2026, while the Liberal Democrats kept overall control in the town. The result gives Reform a place on the council for the first time and leaves the Lib Dems in charge after the count closed.

Cheltenham Count Finishes

The Cheltenham result came after counting finished, with Reform taking a seat and the Liberal Democrats holding the council overall. That is the change voters can see immediately: one new party on the chamber floor, but no change to who runs the council.

The wider local election picture covered more than 5,000 seats across 136 local authorities and six mayoral races, with results from all counts expected by Saturday. Cheltenham sat inside that England-wide count, but its outcome moved on its own terms once the local tally ended.

Swindon And The Magic 29

Swindon counted down on the same day and ended with no party having overall control. The Conservatives were the biggest party there but fell short of the magic 29 needed for control, while Labour lost its majority.

Reform won 14 seats in Swindon, and Conservative chair Vinay Manro called it a “fantastic day” for the party. The result left Swindon in a different position from Cheltenham: one council gained a new Reform presence, while the other had no party past the threshold for overall control.

England-Wide Local Election Count

The Cheltenham result matters because it moved the council’s makeup without changing the governing group. Reform now has a seat to use in council business, while the Liberal Democrats remain the group with overall control after the count finished.

Jim Robbins, Labour’s leader in Swindon, and editors Chris Kelly and Zosia Eyres were named in the election coverage, but the count results themselves were the clearest facts: Reform’s first Cheltenham seat, Lib Dem control retained, and Swindon left with no overall majority.