There were 4 principal council by-elections on Thursday night. The Liberal Democrats stood candidates in 3 of them and there was a lot of success to enjoy with a superb gain from the Conservatives and really good performances in places where we did not stand in the previous election.
Our gain came on Cambridgeshire County Council in Yaxley and Farcet ward. Here Councillor Andrew Wood overturned a 700 vote Conservative majority to win in a close three way contest. The win also makes the Lib Dems the largest group on the Council which was balanced at 22 councillors each for us and the Conservatives. We now have 23 to their 21 and continue to run the council as a joint administration with Labour and Independents. Congratulations to Councillor Wood and the Cambridgeshire Lib Dem team.
Cambridgeshire CC, Yaxley and Farcet
Liberal Democrats (Andrew Wood): 509 (31%, +5.6)
Conservative: 470 (28.6%, -28.3%)
Independent: 448 (27.3%, new)
Labour: 175 (10.6%, -7.1%)
Green Party: 42 (2.6%, +2.6%)
In the East Midlands, we contested Heckington Rural ward of North Kesteven District Council and finished a very strong third place having not stood here in the previous elections. Well done to Lib Dem candidate Susan Hislop for winning over 27% of the vote and finishing just 80 votes behind the winning Conservative candidate. From not standing last time that is an amazing accomplishment and puts us in a great position for the next election. Well done again to Susan and the team.
North Kesteven DC, Heckington Rural
Conservative: 425 (36.7%, -27.0%)
Independent: 369 (29.2%, new)
Liberal Democrats (Susan Hislop): 345 (27.3%, new)
Labour: 123 (9.6%, -29.3%)
We also stood in Brynford and Halkyn ward on Flintshire Council in Wales. Thank you to David Case for representing the Liberal Democrats here and securing a good third place finish (out of 6) in a ward the Lib Dems did not contend previously. Labour gained the ward from the Conservatives. A very promising result.
Flintshire Council, Brynford and Halkyn
Labour: 329 (36.6%, -3.1%)
Conservative: 287 (32%, +1.8%)
Liberal Democrats (David Case): 98 (10.9%, new)
Green Party: 95 (10.6%, new)
Independent: 53 (5.9%, new)
Independent: 36 (4%, new)
The final by-election this week was on Knowsley MBC in Whitfield ward. No Lib Dem candidate here and it was won by an independent who narrowly beat Labour in a two way contest.
Knowsley MBC, Whitfield
Independent: 659 (54.1%, new)
Labour: 558 (45.9%, -6.6%)
A full summary of all results can be found on the ALDC by-elections page here.
* Charles Quinn is Campaigns Organiser for ALDC and a local councillor in Hull.
6 Comments
3 Tory defences of which they lose 2 & come very close to losing the third.
In the Polls, an average of the last 10 gives –
Labour 44%
Con 23%
Libdems 10%
Looking at the fringe Parties –
The Greens on 5.5% – continuing the slow decline which is normal in the run-up to a General Election
while Reform on 12% are holding up, even rising a bit.
Even allowing for the complications of independents coming and going and what happens when a two member ward can only have one winner in a by-election, this was another bad night for Labour. Their vote share went down in all four contests, even in the one where they gained the seat from the Conservatives!
Council by-elections & local elections are a poor indication of what’s to come in a GE…Paltry turnouts , independents and local issues can easily skew the results … Labour has disastrous local elections in 2017..
At the GE it polled over 40% .. Significant number of voters only cast thier voters at a GE – in those voters eyes it’s the only one worth voting in ..
The Tory slump continued with a vengance on Thursday.
Martin Gray is right on one count but what is happening week by week in the local by election field is probably still a very good indicator of what is to come om May 2nd.
The big difference between Local & General Elections ( in terms of results) is that We get a lot more Votes & Councillors & Labour a lot less. That pattern intensifies for Local Byelections.
The results of Council Elections do have an effect on National Politics if Tory losses in May are as bad as expected then their morale will be hit & probably we will see another attempt to change Leader – making them look even more hopeless.
Paul Barker is right to highlight the indirect relationship between council elections and General Elections in terms of the morale of party activists. Differential enthusiasm matters. Disunity matters. The Tory psychodrama which seems to have intensified since last May has tended to overshadow the disquiet of many Labour Party activists.