Julie Clare Kemp-Harper won Abingdon's Dunmore ward seat with 622 of 895 valid votes. Turnout was 16.9%. Full figures for all four candidates.

Liberal Democrat Julie Clare Kemp-Harper has won the Dunmore ward by-election for Abingdon-on-Thames Town Council. She took 622 votes, more than the other three candidates combined.

The deputy returning officer declared the result on Thursday night, after polls closed at 10pm. The declaration of result of poll is published on the Vale of White Horse’s by-elections page.

The result

Candidate Description on the ballot Votes Share
Julie Clare Kemp-Harper (elected) Liberal Democrats 622 69.5%
Christopher Francis Palmer The Conservative Party Candidate 103 11.5%
Luis Enrique Prado Reform UK 96 10.7%
Timothy Hunt The Green Party 74 8.3%

Her majority over the Conservative candidate was 519. The shares are our own calculation from the 895 valid votes; the declaration gives the counts only.

Bar chart of the Dunmore ward by-election on 29 October 2026: Julie Clare Kemp-Harper, Liberal Democrat, 622 votes; Chris Palmer, Conservative, 103; Luis Enrique Prado, Reform UK, 96; Tim Hunt, Green, 74. Turnout 16.9% of 5,321 electors.
Votes per candidate. Source: Vale of White Horse declaration of result, 29 October 2026. Chart by Abingdon Online
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Turnout

Fewer than one in five voters took part. The declaration records:

  • 5,321 electors on the register
  • 896 ballot papers issued
  • 16.9% turnout
  • 1 ballot paper rejected, as unmarked or void for uncertainty

Low turnout is common at single-seat town council by-elections. This one also went ahead without poll cards: the Vale’s page says the town council asked for none to be issued, as we reported before polling day.

Why there was a vote

The seat fell vacant after the death of Councillor Margaret Crick in July. She had represented Dunmore since 2011 and was Mayor of Abingdon in 2018-19. In August we explained how ten electors could force a by-election instead of the council co-opting a replacement. Enough requests arrived, and the notice of election followed on 25 September.

Dunmore elects four of the town council’s 19 councillors.

What it means for you

  • Dunmore has its fourth councillor again. The council’s town councillors page lists who represents each ward and how to contact them; it did not yet list the new member when we checked on Friday morning.
  • The term is short. The next scheduled parish and town council elections are on Thursday 6 May 2027, according to the Vale’s elections page. Every seat on the town council, including this one, is up then.
  • Candidates’ spending returns will be published by the Vale. Its by-elections page already carries a link for the Dunmore candidate expenses.