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Council by-election · Thursday, 24 September 2026

Brighton and Hove City: Queen's Park ward

Archive. This election has already happened. Everything below is shown as it stood at the time: the candidates, their published positions as of the campaign, and household figures under the law of 2026. Nothing here is a judgement of what happened afterwards.

5 candidates stood here, polling day 24 September 2026. The same page for each of them, in the order you will see on the ballot paper. Read them all, or start with the one you have heard of.

5candidates for one seat
6sourced positions
4with something published
4named sources

See the 5 candidatesIn a hurry? Two-minute guide →

The 5 on your paper in the order you’ll see them

  1. No. 1Liberal Democrats

    Rudi Dikty-Daudiyan

    “Brighton and Hove Liberal Democrats are pleased to introduce Rüdi Dikty-Daudiyan as their candidate in the upcoming Queen’s Park by-election.”

    Published on: money

  2. No. 2Labour Party

    Steve Gladwin

    “Behind the grand facades around Queen’s Park itself are communities facing some of the worst relative poverty in the city.”

    Published on: money

  3. No. 3Reform UK

    John Shepherd

    No statement supplied.

    Nothing published that we could source yet

  4. No. 4Conservative and Unionist Party

    Stefan Sönke Speckesser

    “I want to bring Queen’s Park back to life and make sure Craven Vale gets the regular care, repairs and clean streets residents deserve.”

    Published on: housing, education

  5. No. 5Green Party candidate

    Mark Strong

    ““I’m honoured to stand alongside Clare and am looking forward to working with her in support of all the ward.”

    Published on: environment, transport

The result, Thursday, 24 September 2026
CandidatePartyVotesShare
Mark Strong (elected)Green Party1,13950.1%
Steve GladwinLabour Party80235.3%
John ShepherdReform UK1607%
Stefan Sönke SpeckesserConservative and Unionist Party974.3%
Rudi Dikty-DaudiyanLiberal Democrats743.3%

2,272 valid votes, turnout 33.4% of 6,838 registered electors, 9 spoilt ballots. Result data from Democracy Club (source). Past results describe the past; each election is a new contest.

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Explore by topic

Money · Housing · Healthcare · Education · Environment · Transport and roads · Immigration · Crime · Defence · Equality and rights

Add your household and the topics that touch it come first, with the reason.

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Changes only the order of topic sections on this page. It never changes what is shown, who is shown, or any figure.

In this ward 5 candidates from 5 parties or independent slots are standing. Parties do not stand everywhere; here is how to find out whether yours stands nearby.

This is a council seat. A councillor's win changes what the council decides: council tax, housing repairs and allocations, planning, social care, schools admissions, parking, bins, libraries. It does not change national tax, benefits or NHS policy, so this page shows only positions published for this council election, and no national party pledges are implied.

Sourced positions found for 4 of 5 candidates

Compare candidates side by side

You're voting for

Your local councillor

Councillors sit on the council that runs services where you live. They set the council's budget and council tax, and decide local planning applications. Here, for Brighton and Hove City: Queen's Park ward.

What this office decides

  • Planning. Whether new homes, extensions and developments get permission.
  • Waste and streets. Bins, recycling, street cleaning, fly-tipping.
  • Council tax. The level you pay, within limits set nationally.
  • Social care. In county and unitary councils, care for older and disabled people.
  • Parks and libraries. Opening, funding, closing.
  • Council housing. Repairs, allocations and, in many areas, homelessness.

What it does not

  • NHS policy and waiting times. Parliament and the NHS.
  • Income tax and benefits. Parliament.
  • Immigration. Parliament.
  • Policing policy. The Home Office and your Police and Crime Commissioner or mayor.
  • Schools' curriculum. Government and, for academies, their trusts.

Candidates often campaign on things their office cannot change. That is not dishonest in itself — an MP can press a council, a councillor can lobby government — but it is worth knowing which is which. Summarised from the Local Government Association and UK Parliament descriptions of each role.

How this vote is counted: first past the post. One cross; the candidate with the most votes wins.Worked example

Every ballot with one cross is counted for that candidate. The one with the most votes wins, even without a majority. Example: A 4,000, B 3,900, C 2,100. A wins with 40% of the vote; the 60% cast for others elect nobody. There are no second preferences; a vote for a candidate who does not win has no further effect.

Everyone on one page

Showing 5 of 5 candidates. Everyone on the ballot, in ballot-paper order.

Numbered as on the ballot paper. Open a candidate to see their positions on the ten topics, with sources. Until a household is described, only positions that apply to everyone are counted.

1Rudi Dikty-Daudiyan

Liberal Democrats

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2Steve Gladwin

Labour Party

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3John Shepherd

Reform UK

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4Stefan Sönke Speckesser

Conservative and Unionist Party

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5Mark Strong

Green Party

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Photos appear only on each candidate's own page, so every candidate looks the same in this list. How much sourced material we found per party · Why isn't my party standing here?

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Go deeper: independent sources

None of these is affiliated with a party. Where a source campaigns for a position, the label says so. Links open the original site.

Cross-cutting: polling, fact-checking, parliamentary research

Sources used on this page

  1. Statement to voters: Mark Strong — Mark Strong (candidate), via Democracy Club, undated. Retrieved 19 September 2026. 2 quotations.
  2. Statement to voters: Rudi Dikty-Daudiyan — Rudi Dikty-Daudiyan (candidate), via Democracy Club, undated. Retrieved 19 September 2026. 1 quotation.
  3. Statement to voters: Stefan Sönke Speckesser — Stefan Sönke Speckesser (candidate), via Democracy Club, undated. Retrieved 19 September 2026. 2 quotations.
  4. Statement to voters: Steve Gladwin — Steve Gladwin (candidate), via Democracy Club, undated. Retrieved 19 September 2026. 1 quotation.

Candidate lists and nominations: Democracy Club (CC BY 4.0). Tax and benefit figures: PolicyEngine UK, open source.

Cite this page

Harvard style. Every figure on the page also names its original source, which is usually the better thing to cite.