Liberal Democrats have won a decisive victory in the Coppice Valley Town Council by-election, with Cllr McManus taking 61.2% of the vote – increasing their vote on last years local election by +21.2 points.
- Liberal Democrat: 61.2% (+21.2%)
- Reform UK: 15.6% (-9.4%)
- Conservative: 12.5% (-4.5%)
- Labour: 5.1% (-4.9%)
- Green: 5.0% (-3.0%)
Turnout was 30.7%.
Libdems have said “This is now a straight fight between the Liberal Democrats and Reform”
Tom Gordon, Liberal Democrat MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough said:
Thank you to everyone in Coppice Valley who voted Liberal Democrat last night – including the many who normally back other parties but lent us their vote to the Lib Dems to keep Reform out.
Rebecca McManus will be a fantastic local community champion. The trust people have shown in Rebecca and our party means everything, and we won’t take it for granted.
This result shows just how irrelevant the Conservative Party has become in Harrogate.
Under Kemi Badenoch, the Tories have chased Reform to the hard right, and voters can no longer tell the difference between the two parties.
People here want a party that will stand up for our community, not one chasing headlines on the far-right fringes of British politics.
Again and again, voters are telling us that the Liberal Democrats are the only ones who can actually beat Reform in Harrogate – and last night they proved it.
Jonathan Swales, Reform UK – Branch Chairman. Harrogate and Knaresborough Constituency:
Congratulations to Cllr McManus. But let’s be clear how this was achieved: it wasn’t conversion, it was resource. The Liberal Democrats blanketed this by-election with leaflets — including Donald Trump and the war in Iran — because nationalising a town council race was easier than engaging with it.
A big swing bought with that much resource tells you about their war chest, not a shift in what this ward believes.
Calling this ‘a straight fight’ is the same tactic that produced the result — squeeze Labour, Green and Conservative voters into lending their vote, then use the number to make the squeeze louder next time. Reform held a clear second, comfortably ahead of the Conservatives, in a ward we’ve been steadily building support in. Two Liberal Democrat councillors have resigned this year — that instability doesn’t vanish because of one leaflet-funded by-election.
We fought on our record, not personal attacks.
We now turn our focus back to the May 2027 county and local elections.
