The Liberal Democrats have increased their majority on Somerset Council following a brace of by-election victories.

Voters went to the polls on Thursday (October 23) to vote for new councillors in the Dunster and Glastonbury divisions, following the retirement of Christine Lawrence and the death of Nick Cottle respectively.

The Lib Dems held Glastonbury by more than 300 votes, with Ewan Cameron seeing off strong challenges from the Conservatives, Greens and Reform UK.

In Dunster, Lib Dem candidate Cara Strom romped to victory, winning nearly 50 per cent of the vote and giving the party both seats within the division.

Ms Strom lives in Blue Anchor and runs the Anchors Drop holiday accommodation business with her partner Marcus Kravis – the other Lib Dem division member for Dunster.

She polled 1,142 votes at the by-election, winning 49.6 per cent of the vote on a turnout of 32.2 per cent.

Reform UK's Jonathan Rollason finished second with 666 votes, followed by Conservative candidate James Bellamy (449 votes) and Labour candidate Terry Ledlie (44 votes).

Speaking after her victory, Ms Strom said: "People have been telling me on the doorsteps that the Lib Dems are hard-working people – the party that brings communities together and stands up for the most vulnerable in our society.

"We are working with the cards that have been handed to us by government, and under challenging conditions we continue to do our best to deliver for local people.

"This result shows that people want a councillor who listens, works hard, and puts the community first, and I will do all I can to ensure local voices are heard loud and clear."

In Glastonbury, Mr Cameron (a self-described "pagan, Saracens fan, Greenman and advocate for local causes") polled 882 votes – the equivalent to 36.4 per cent, on a turnout of 33.5 per cent.

Reform candidate Henry Warne finished second with 523 votes, closely followed by Tory candidate Lilli Osborn (506 votes) and Green candidate Jon Cousins (480 votes) – with Labour candidate Gregory Chambers finishing last, with 35 votes.

Councillor Oliver Patrick, associate portfolio holder for climate change and active travel, said the result was an endorsement of the Lib Dems' work in Somerset and the party's ability to stand up for local people.

Posting on social media, he said: "I am absolutely thrilled that Ewan won the Glastonbury by-election last night, which was called following the death of much-loved colleague Councillor Nick Cottle, who was the chairman of our planning committee east.

"There are many things to take away from these results, but one thing's for sure straight off the bat: the voters are still backing us, the Lib Dems, to be their local champions in the south west – and Reform is not invincible."

These by-election results give the Lib Dems 62 out of 110 seats on Somerset Council – giving them a working majority of seven.

The Conservatives remain the main opposition party with 32 seats, followed by five seats each for the Greens and Labour, four independents or non-aligned councillors, and two for Reform UK.

The next local elections for the whole of Somerset will be held in May 2027 – with the Local Government Boundary Commission for England (LGBCE) expected to bring forward final proposals for the new boundaries in December.