Reform UK candidate announced for upcoming Fletton and Woodston by-election
Reform UK is the latest party to put forward a candidate for the upcoming Fletton and Woodston by-election due to be held on Thursday, July 16.
Peterborough Reform UK councillor Peter Reeve revealed on Friday, June 12 that Ryan Gallagher will be the party’s candidate for the vacant post, which has arisen following the resignation of former Independent councillor Daisy Blakemore-Creedon.
This follows on from the recent announcement made by MP for North West Cambridgeshire, Sam Carling on Saturday, June 6 that Adam Marshall would be the Labour candidate for the vacant post
On Thursday, June 4 the leader of Peterborough Conservatives, Cllr Wayne Fitzgerald confirmed to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) that his party had selected Janet Brown to run on a Tory ticket.
This was preceded by a social media post shared on Tuesday, June 2 by the Peterborough Green Party announcing their decision to stand Katherine Sharp as their candidate in the ward.
The Lib Dems have confirmed that they will compete in the upcoming contest, although the party has yet to officially announce a candidate.
The two current local councillors for Fletton and Woodston are Cllr Ed Murphy (Green Party) and Cllr Andrew O’Neil (Reform UK).
Cllr O’Neil was the last person to win a Peterborough by-election, triumphing in February 2026 when a contest was held following the passing of former Labour councillor Nick Thulbourn.
Cllr Murphy won his seat in the local elections in May 2026.
Make up of the council
The Fletton and Woodston seat set to be contested on July 16 is the only vacant seat on the council.
The current make-up of Peterborough City Council looks like this:.
The Conservatives are the largest party with 13 elected representatives.
Labour (including Labour and Co-operative) are second with 11 councillors. However, their party leader, Cllr Shabina Qayyum, remains Leader of the Council due to a coalition with other parties.
The Liberal Democrats have eight councillors, which is also the same number as Independent and Peterborough First councillors currently sitting in the council chamber.
The Green Party have six members on the authority, while Reform UK have five.