The May local elections may just be over the precipice but there are still many hotly contested by-elections to contest until polling night. Three principal authority council By-elections this week and a Town council By-election for a good measure saw the Lib Dems back on the By-election trail.
First up we have Morecambe TC where newly elected Phil Forster gained the seat of Bare South West from the Conservatives. The Lib Dems really do love Town and Parish councils.
Morecambe TC, Bare South West
Liberal Democrat (Phil Forster): 85
Conservative: 67
Labour: 62
Next, we turn our gaze to Melton BC where Jim Adcock has the unduly task of campaigning in a ward that we have never contested before. A commendable second-place finish and a 25% vote share may win the plaudits but not the victory this time around.
Melton BC, Melton Sysonby
Conservative: 396
Liberal Democrat (Jim Adcock): 187
Labour: 165
In the northeast, the Conservative party kept Mayfield blue on Scarborough District council in a By-election with no Lib Dem on the ballot paper. It is imperative that we raise our game on the candidate front and aim for a full slate of candidates.
Scarborough DC, Mayfield
Conservative: 268
Labour: 142
Independent: 268
Yorkshire: 53
At the time of writing, we are still waiting for the result at Doncaster MBC’s By-election at Wheatley Hills and Intake ward due to a Friday count. Fingers crossed it’s a successful night for Dean Southall and the team.
* Paul Heilbron is a Campaigns and Communications Intern at ALDC
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4 Comments
Well done to Phil Forster – but also very well done Jim Adcock. That’s a really impressive outcome, to beat Labour and win the support of one in every four voters. Particularly impressive as it was from a standing start. Just goes to show, when you actually contest wards, good things can happen. Scarborough LibDems take note.
For those who prefer the longer term view the data for the last fifty local by-elections is as follows.
Vote share: (The equivalent data for the fifty by-elections up to the end of February is given in brackets).
Conservatives 37.2% (37.4%)
Liberal Democrats 28.9% (21.7%)
Labour 19.0% (22.8%)
Greens 6.1% (8.5%)
Others 8.8% (9.6%)
Gains and losses are:
Conservatives: Net loss of one: 4 gains, 18 held, 5 lost
Lib Dems: Net gain of four: 5 gains, 10 held, 1 lost
Labour: Net gain of three: 4 gains, 6 held, 1 lost
Independents: Net loss of five: 0 gains, 2 held, 5 lost
Greens: Net gain of one: 1 gain, 1 held, 0 lost
UKIP: Net loss of one: 0 gains, 0 held, 1 lost
Yorkshire Party: Net loss of one: 0 gains, 0 held, 1 lost
Conservatives won 22 seats, Liberal Democrats 15, Labour 10, Green 2, Independents 2
(The numbers add up to 51 as there was a double-vacancy in one ward)
This data is for the most recent 50 by-elections in England & Wales (20th January to 31st March). Parish/Town councils are not included.
The result for Wheatley Hills and Intake in Doncaster was a Labour hold.
Lab 827, Con 419, Yorkshire Party 356, Greens 135, Lib Dem 60
Unduly task???!!!