Alex Finnegan at the Mandate blog has identified Burnley as one of the key seats to watch at this year’s general election, with the Lib Dems tipped to take the challenge to Labour in one of its heartland seats:
With former Government Minister Kitty Usher standing down because of her expenses’ claims, Burnley is the sort of seat the Liberal Democrats need to gain from Labour in order to do well. The Lib Dem candidate, Gordon Birtwistle, is the current leader of Burnley Council and has strong local roots and the Liberal Democrats have performed well in recent local elections. The BNP is also a factor. It could steal some of Labour’s traditional voters away, allowing the Liberal Democrats to sneak in. A defeat for Labour in its heartland would send shockwaves around the Party.
The Lib Dems have been leading the fightback against the BNP in Burnley – just seven years ago, the BNP formed the official opposition on the council until a crucial by-election in June 2003. By June 2009, the party topped the poll in both the local and European elections, ahead of Labour and the BNP.
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And the BNP vote fell in the Euro elections between 2004 and 2009 (IIRC it was the biggest drop in the BNP vote share anywhere in the North West)
If anyone in Labour is shocked by losing Burnley then they haven’t been paying attention
Contributions to causing shockwaves are always welcome. http://www.burnleylibdems.org.uk
So that’s what he was typing when he was supposed to be taking notes in the campaign meeting. Um, yeah, what Hywel said.
Having been up leafletting in a number of wards there now, if we don’t take Burnley I’ll personally be surprised, but I’m not local enough to know all the ins and outs.
Very swish website, but I can’t find any way to donate. Always worth having a PayPal button or similar prominent…
If Burnley swings yellow it will only mean good things for the nearby constituencies. I’m home over Easter so I’ll probably be of some use to you lot delivering leaflets.
Good point – I’ll see if we can address that ASAP.
In the interim, if that’s the only thing stopping you donating then contact me in more old fashioned ways
If we are on comments on the website, I always like a clear link to the bio of the PPC as well…
Cheers for the comments re the website, suggestions noted and being acted on – always good to get an outside perspective on things you sometimes miss with being so involved.
Also agree with the comments about Labour should only be shocked if they have their heads buried in the sand – although as we all know, that doesn’t mean we can be complacent.
I know someone who would send a hefty donation if only there was a name and contact address to either email or bung the cheque off to….
Philip either
http://www.burnleylibdems.org.uk/contact-us
Or maybe pass me your details through the LDV team
There is now a Donate button just to the right of the blog column. I’m sticking to my word