There is only one place to start and that’s on the Isle of Wight where newly elected Lib Dem councillor Nick Stuart won Brighstone, Calbourne & Shalfleet ward from the Conservatives with a 23.5% increase in vote share.
Congratulations Nick and the Lib Dem team in the Isle of Wight – an amazing victory that goes to show that hard work pays off.
Isle of Wight UA, Brighstone, Calbourne and Shalfleet
Liberal Democrat (Nick Stuart): 526 [53.4%, +23.5%]
Conservative: 239 [24.3%, -19.2%]
Green: 153 [15.5%, -11.1%]
Independent: 36 [3.7%, +3.7%]
Labour: 31 [3.1%, +3.1%]
In Warrington we also put in a really good performance in Rixton & Woolston ward where Lib Dem candidate Brian Meichin increased the Lib Dem vote share by 5% to finish a strong third with over 200 votes. The Conservatives narrowly held the ward by just 3 votes!
Warrington MBC, Rixton & Woolston
Conservative: 648 [42.9%, +2.8%]
Labour: 645 [42.7%, +5.5%]
Liberal Democrat (Brian Meichin): 219 [14.5%, +5.0%]
The final principle election with a Lib Dem candidate was on Bassetlaw DC. Thank you to Phil Ray for standing and giving voters a Lib Dem option on the ballot paper in Sutton ward. Labour won the ward from the Conservatives on the night.
Bassetlaw DC, Sutton
Labour: 301 [56.1%, +35.9%]
Conservative: 224 [41.7%, -22%]
Liberal Democrat (Phil Ray): 12 [2.2%, -13.9%]
There was one other principal by-election on Thursday night. There was no Lib Dem candidate in Linacre ward on Sefton MBC. Labour held the seat (full result here) but the turnout was a tiny 8.8%! There are many reasons why we should always stand a Lib Dem candidate – and the small turnouts in by-elections is one of them. Low turnouts give us a better chance of a good result if we work hard in the elections, but also we will increase the turnout just by standing and giving voters a Lib Dem alternative to vote for. It’s good for democracy!
There was also a rare Wednesday night by-election on Ashfield DC in Hucknell Central ward. There was no Lib Dem candidate and Ashfield Independents held the ward. Full result here.
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.
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4 Comments
Finally some cheer despite Ed Daveys invisibility. Well done Isle of Wight. You successfully squeezed the Green party saw off Labour and most importantly took 20pc from the Conservatives.Well done also to Warrington to increase their vote at a time when Labour appear to be able to walk on water. Now on to Surrey next week.
Very good result on IoW. Might the Lib Dems actually consider standing at a parliamentary level in this former seat, or will they just continue to act as a doormat for the Greens?
Here’s my monthly report giving a longer term view for the last fifty local by-elections.
Vote share: (The equivalent data for the fifty by-elections up to the end of October is given in brackets).
Labour 32.6% (30.3%).
Conservatives 29.0% (31.6%)
Liberal Democrats 16.5% (19.6%)
Greens 9.2% (8.1%)
Others 12.8% (10.1%)
Gains and losses are:
Labour: Net gain of eight: 10 gains, 10 held, 2 lost
Independents: Net gain of two: 2 gains, 3 held, 0 lost
Residents: Net gain of one: 1 gain, 0 held, 0 lost
Plaid Cymru: No change: 1 gain, 1 held, 0 lost
Lib Dems: Net loss of one: 3 gains, 5 held, 4 lost
Greens: Net loss of one: 0 gains, 1 held, 1 lost
Conservatives: Net loss of ten: 4 gains, 11 held, 14 lost
Labour won 20 seats, Conservatives 15, Liberal Democrats 8, Independents 5, Plaid Cymru 2, Greens 1, Residents 1
This data is for the most recent 50 by-elections in England & Wales (29th September to 24th November). Parish/Town councils are not included. Seats won adds up to 52 because of double elections in two wards.
It’s a good news. Congratulations , my best wishes to Nick Stuart.