Reading Borough Council is the council for the unitary authority of Reading in Berkshire, England. Until 1 April 1998 it was a non-metropolitan district. Since the last boundary changes in 2022 the council has comprised 48 councillors representing 16 wards, with each ward electing three councillors. Elections are held three years out of every four, with a third of the council (one councillor for each ward) being elected each time for a four-year term.[1]
By-elections are listed on the pages of the last council-wide election prior to the by-election, with the exception of the 1977 by-election below which was due to a boundary change and increase in number of councillors rather than needing to fill a vacancy on the council.
| By-election | Date | Incumbent party | Winning party | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abbey | 6 May 1999 | ||||
| Church | 15 June 2000 | ||||
| Redlands | 2 May 2002 | ||||
| Southcote | 4 May 2006 | ||||
| Thames | |||||
| Tilehurst | 16 November 2006 | ||||
| bgcolor=lightblue | Church | 3 May 2007 | bgcolor=lightblue | bgcolor=lightblue | |
| Southcote | |||||
| Park | 22 May 2014 | ||||
| Southcote | 24 July 2014 | ||||
| Southcote | 21 July 2016 | ||||
| Kentwood | 12 December 2019 | ||||
| Norcot | 3 August 2023 | ||||
On 1 April 1977 the borough was enlarged by the addition of parts of the parishes of Eye and Dunsden, Kidmore End and Mapledurham, all from South Oxfordshire. The number of councillors on Reading Borough Council was increased from 46 to 49 as a result. The two South Oxfordshire district councillors representing much of the transferred area automatically became Reading borough councillors without needing to be re-elected, representing a new ward of Caversham Park. These two were Geoff Lowe and Harold Stoddart, both Liberals (although Lowe later defected to the Conservatives in 1978).[6] Reading's existing Thames and Caversham wards were also enlarged, and the increase in the size of Thames ward justified a fifth councillor being elected for that ward, for which a by-election was held on 21 April 1977, which was won by the Conservatives. After the by-election and two transfers, the balance of the council was 23 Conservatives, 13 Labour and 13 Liberals.[2] [7] [8]