ALDC’s by-election report – 2nd February 2017

Last night saw another amazing gain for the Lib Dems resulting in our first new councillor in Rotherham since 2000! In Rotherham there were two seats up for contention – one a Labour seat and another for UKIP. Both changed hands.

In Brinsworth & Catcliffe, Lib Dem Dr Adam Carter has three simple messages which were repeated throughout the literature and scripts for doorstep and phone canvassing.

  • Adam lives locally in Brinsworth
  • He works as an NHS doctor
  • The Lib Dem Team are fighting for a new school

The Labour vote went down an astonishing 26.2% from 2016 local elections as our vote rose by 50.4%.  This is the highest share of votes ever in Rotherham and Adam and his campaign manager, Hannah Kitching, rightly deserve all of the plaudits coming their way for this fantastic win.

LD Adam Carter 2000 [66.0%; +50.4%]
Labour 519 [17.1%;-26.2%]
UKIP 389 [12.8%; -16.4%]
Conservative 91 [3.0%; -8.8%]
Green 30 [1.0%; +1.0%]
32% turnout
Majority 1481
LD gain from Labour
Percentage change 2016

On the same night in another part of Rotherham, in Dinnington ward, Stephen Thornley stood for the Lib Dems. The amazing result in the other part of Rotherham shows the very effective targeting of their campaign. This was not a ward the team were going to win, however, they still stood a candidate and should be applauded for doing so.

Labour 670 [36.1%; +3.9%]
UKIP 303 [16.3%; -14.1%]
Conservative 238 [12.8%;+12.8%]
Independent 232 [12.5%; -12.8%]
Independent 180 [9.7%; +9.7%]
Independent 81 [4.4%; +4.4%]
Green 78 [4.2%; -7.9%]
LD Stephen Thornley 75 [4.0%;+4.0%]
Majority 367
Labour gain from UKIP
Percentage change since 2016

Although Labour have made this a gain from UKIP, Labour have won it in the last two years and it continues with the trend of UKIP doing poorly, especially in wards they are defending.

The only other principal election on Thursday evening was in East Staffordshire, Town ward. This was disappointing for the lack of a Lib Dem candidate and results like Rotherham should again serve as inspiration and a reminder to always stand a candidate.

Conservative 627 [52.3%; -0.3%]
Labour 359 [29.9%; -3.0%]
UKIP 213 [17.8%; +17.8%]
[Green 0 [0.0% ;-14.5]]
Majority 268
Turnout 17%
Conservative hold
Percentage changes from 2015

Next week at 23 New Mount Street wonderful volunteers will be looking forward to by-elections in the Cotswolds and North Norfolk, where we could potentially see two more gains, as well as phoning for the Copeland and Stoke Parliamentary by-election.

A huge thank you to last night’s brilliant team of volunteers who came to 23 New Mount Street in Manchester to make calls at ALDC’s By-election HQ. It’s always good fun with such a lovely team – if you haven’t been yet please come and join our winning team! ALDC’s by-election support and the grants we offer to by-elections are funded through vital fighting fund donations. If you can help us fight in even more wards, please donate here.

For a detailed list of this week’s results please click here. If you would like more information on all the forthcoming by-elections and details on who to contact to help, click here.

* ALDC is the Association of Liberal Democrat Councillors and Campaigners

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3 Comments

  • Thankyou and well done to BOTH candidates in Rotherham.
    At some point all these stunning gains will register with the media, won’t they?
    No. What am I thinking? Of course they won’t!
    But lets keep them coming anyway. They are the heart of our revival.

  • Tony Dawson 4th Feb '17 - 9:05am

    “results like Rotherham should again serve as inspiration and a reminder to always stand a candidate.”

    This does not appear to me to be a serious comment. The situations are completely different.

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