Labour claims narrow win against Reform in crucial Ellesmere Port by-electionReform UK made inroads into Labour's vote share after what had been an easy win in the 2023 local electionsView Image New Labour councillor Kris Fisher (right) with Labour councillor Ben Walker (Image: Copyright Unknown)Labour narrowly held on against Reform UK to win a crucial council by-election which had threatened to tip the balance of power against it. Voters turned out in high numbers in Ellesmere Port’s Strawberry ward on Thursday (October 2) to choose a replacement for their previous Labour councillor Gareth Gould, who had stepped down in August for health reasons. The by-election came on the back of the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool, as the party lags behind Nigel Farage's Reform in the opinion polls. ‌Before Mr Gould stepped down, Labour had 35 councillors out of 70, with all other opposition councillors also totalling 35. But if an opposition candidate had won the by-election it would have tipped the balance against Labour and potentially seen it outvoted completely.