An ITV undercover investigation added an October wave of exits to Reform UK's summer councillor losses, and Labour took two of its seats. YouGov's latest poll put Reform third. Peers tabled 160 amendments to the elections bill; ministers proposed commissioners for Bedford and inspectors for Tees Valley.
In October Reform UK lost two council seats to voters as well as councillors to defections.
ITV aired undercover clips of Reform UK councillors from 14 October; resignations in Solihull and Tameside followed, and Labour took two Reform council seats.
Reform UK lost more councillors in October after ITV (Independent Television) aired clips filmed by an undercover reporter placed at its Westminster headquarters. In Solihull, two of the party's members gave up their seats, so local voters will now pick replacements.
Mark Pack's tracker of the May intake lists 62 entries, against 30 in September. Some of them count one person twice. Labour also beat Reform in council by-elections in Newcastle-under-Lyme and Shepshed.
Camden Council leader Sagal Abdi-Wali kept Keir Starmer's old seat for Labour on 8 October, beating Green leader Zack Polanski by 3,364 votes.
United KingdomLabour's Sagal Abdi-Wali won the Holborn and St Pancras by-election on 8 October, in the London seat Keir Starmer used to hold. She finished 3,364 votes ahead of the Green leader, Zack Polanski.
Polanski put his own name on the ballot and came second. The Conservatives edged Reform UK for third place, and the Liberal Democrats lost their deposit.
YouGov's 11-12 October poll for The Times and Sky News had Labour on 24%, the Conservatives on 23% and Reform UK on 21%.
YouGov surveyed 2,393 adults across Great Britain on 11 and 12 October. Labour scored 24%, just ahead of the Conservatives at 23%, with Reform UK at 21%.
Those gaps sit inside the poll's margin of error, so the true order could differ. In early July, YouGov had Reform first on 25%.
The House of Lords will take the elections Bill through six committee sittings from 2 November, with 160 amendments down and none from a minister.
Peers will examine the elections Bill line by line over six sittings, starting on 2 November and ending on 14 December. They have tabled 160 amendments, and Conservative peers lead 66 of them.
Ministers have tabled none. One Labour proposal, from Lord Blunkett, would bar donors convicted of a financial crime within ten years, in Britain or abroad.
A Commons written statement on 22 October said the housing ministry will draw a £2.8m advance to build registration systems for 16- and 17-year-olds.
The housing and communities department will ask the Treasury for £2.8m up front to build the systems that let 16- and 17-year-olds vote. A written statement to MPs set out the request on 22 October.
The cash pays for a sign-up service checked against Department for Education data. Ministers still need the Lords to pass the Bill, which they hope happens by spring 2027.
East Sussex, Lewes, Kent and Lancashire councils took legal action as the three-month window to challenge July's reorganisation decisions closed on 16 October.
The three-month window to challenge July's council shake-up in court closed on 16 October. East Sussex, Lewes, Kent and Lancashire all took legal steps before it shut, to keep that option open.
Several asked judges to pause their cases while ministers rethink the plans. Lancashire's councillors also passed a motion calling for a referendum before any change goes ahead.
Jim McMahon told MPs on 15 October he is minded to send commissioners into Bedford Borough Council and to keep Slough under intervention for three more years.
Jim McMahon, the local government minister, plans to send commissioners into Bedford Borough Council. He told MPs on 15 October that inspectors doubted the council could recover without outside help.
He also plans to keep Slough Borough Council under outside control for another three years, through its May 2027 election. Slough has been in intervention since December 2021.
Ministers appointed Laura Shoaf on 15 October to lead a Best Value inspection of the Tees Valley Combined Authority, citing its debt, borrowing and falling reserves.
Laura Shoaf will lead a government inspection of the Tees Valley Combined Authority, announced on 15 October. Local government minister Jim McMahon pointed to its rising debt and interest bills and its shrinking reserves.
He also wants independent checks on new loan repayment terms with the South Tees Development Corporation. McMahon's statement names no person and blames no one.
John Swinney closed the SNP conference in Aberdeen declaring Scotland ready for independence, but set no referendum date, bill or Section 30 request.
John Swinney told the Scottish National Party conference in Aberdeen on 17 October that Scotland was ready for independence. He gave no timetable for a vote and no plan to ask Westminster for one.
Instead he launched a new campaign. He also promised that the £2 bus fare cap would reach the north east in April 2027. His party won 58 of Holyrood's 129 seats in May.
Ed Davey ruled out a national partnership with the Greens on 19 October, after their Brighton conference passed a motion titled "Zionism is racism".
Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey ruled out any national partnership with The Greens on 19 October. Green members in Brighton had voted 1,022 to 813 for a motion titled "Zionism is racism".
Davey called it a dangerous and antisemitic policy and wrote to two Jewish community bodies. He said nothing about the councils where both parties already share power.
Sideways until the next counted test. Reform holds 50 of 97 sitting seats on Durham County Council, and the Craghead and South Moor by-election on 19 November 2026 fills a Reform vacancy; a Reform win returns it to 51 of 98 seats, and any other winner leaves it on 50. The first YouGov poll with fieldwork after 14 October is the earliest that can register ITV's footage.
