Reform UK holds Ramsey and Bury seat as Tobias wins Cambridgeshire by-election  

By Mitali Syal in Cambridge

17 July 2026

Reform UK has retained its seat on Cambridgeshire County Council after Howard Julian Tobias won Thursday’s by-election in the Ramsey and Bury division, according to the official announcement from Cambridgeshire County Council.

Tobias took 506 votes, finishing 89 ahead of second-placed Independent Steve Corney on 417, with Conservative candidate Adela Eva Costello close behind on 412. Sharon Anne Docherty of the Liberal Democrats secured 126 votes, Green candidate Francis William Reid polled 123, and Labour’s Neil Shailer finished with 118.

Full result

Why the seat was vacant

The by-election was called after the previous Reform UK councillor for the ward, James Sidlow, resigned roughly a year after being elected, with a notice of vacancy published on the county council’s website in June. Sidlow, who had won the division in May 2025, stepped down citing personal circumstances and wider pressures in his life.

A familiar face locally

Tobias isn’t new to the patch. He’s already a Huntingdonshire District Council member for the Ramsey ward, having been elected there alongside fellow Reform UK councillors Ryan Coogan and Karan Maheshwari in May’s district elections.

What it means for the council

The win takes Reform UK’s tally back up to eight of the council’s 61 seats, having dropped to seven following Sidlow’s resignation. The party remains the third-largest group on the county council, behind the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives.

Tobias’s priorities

Speaking after the result, Tobias set out his focus for the division: value for money for taxpayers, close scrutiny of planning applications to head off unsuitable housing development, pressure on the council to fix local roads, and closer work with police on neighbourhood safety.