Marlbrook's council seat is vacant after Conservative Helen Jones resigned. The notice is dated 9 October and allows 35 working days, so expect a November poll.
Marlbrook will go to the polls for a district council by-election. The seat is vacant because Councillor Helen Jones, the ward’s Conservative member since 2019, has stood down.
Bromsgrove District Council published a notice of vacancy on Friday 9 October. It is signed by John Leach, the council’s Proper Officer, and says a by-election “will be held within 35 days (excluding Saturdays, Sundays and bank holidays)” of the council’s declaration of the vacancy. The Returning Officer will fix the date in a separate notice of election.
When the vote is likely to be
The council’s current elections page says only that a by-election “will be held in due course and information will appear here shortly”. The notice does not give a reason for the resignation.
The timing can be worked out from the law the notice cites. Thirty-five working days from 9 October, with no bank holidays in between, runs to Friday 27 November. If the council’s declaration was made on or around the date of the notice, the poll has to be held by then. Local by-elections are normally held on a Thursday, so the likely dates are 12, 19 or 26 November. We will update this page when the notice of election is published.
The winner will hold the seat only until May 2027. The council says 2026 is a “fallow year” with no scheduled elections, and that its next scheduled polls, when all 31 seats are contested, are due in May 2027.
The last two Marlbrook results
Marlbrook is a single-member ward on the Old Birmingham Road, north of the town centre. Helen Jones won it twice. The council’s summary of the 2023 results gives the last contest, on 4 May 2023:
- Helen Jones, Conservative: 439 (elected)
- Alan Cooper, Labour: 220
- Peter Harvey, Green: 142
- Mason Cherrington, Reform UK: 63
The electorate was 2,394 and 868 ballot papers were issued, a turnout of 36.26%.
In May 2019 she took the seat with 474 votes to 206 for the Green candidate and 160 for Labour, on a turnout of 36.07%. The Conservative majority in the ward has therefore been a little over 200 votes at both of the last two elections.
For comparison, the ward’s turnout was 76% in May 2015, when the district poll fell on the same day as a general election. A stand-alone by-election in November is likely to draw far fewer voters than any of those contests.
What the result would change
Bromsgrove District Council has 31 seats. With Marlbrook empty, the council’s list of members shows:
- Conservative: 10
- Liberal Democrat: 7
- Independent: 7
- Labour: 6
- Vacant: 1
No party has a majority. The cabinet is led by the Conservative leader, Councillor Karen May, with an Independent deputy leader. A Conservative hold would restore the group to 11 of the 31 seats. A loss would leave it on 10, still the largest single group. Either way the arithmetic of the chamber barely moves, but the by-election is the only chance district voters get to pass a verdict on the council before May 2027.
What it means for you
If you live in the Marlbrook ward, this is what to do now:
- Check you are registered to vote. The council’s voting page explains how, and you must register again if you have changed name or address since you last voted. The registration deadline will be set by the notice of election.
- Take photo ID. The council’s voter ID page confirms that photo ID is required at polling stations for local elections. An out-of-date passport or driving licence still counts if it looks like you, and voters without ID can apply for a free Voter Authority Certificate.
- Postal votes must reach the council by the close of poll on election day, so apply early if you will be away in November.
Residents elsewhere in the district are not affected. Council tax, bin collections and planning decisions carry on as normal: see our pages on council tax bands, bin collection days and planning applications.
Anyone wanting to stand must deliver nomination papers to the Returning Officer at Parkside, Market Street, within the period the notice of election sets. Electoral Services can be reached through the council’s switchboard on 01527 881288.
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