The first of six council by-elections declaring tonight was a good start – a hold, albeit by a mere 6 votes in Somerset West and Taunton’s Old Cleeve and District
Great news from Somerset – Lib Dems HOLD Somerset West and Taunton Old Cleeve and District: Lib Dem Steve Griffith 500 44.9%
Conservative 494 44.3%
Independent 120 10.8%
And so close in Devon
So close. Mid Devon DC Upper Culm
Conservative 361
Lib Dem Sean Ritchie 346
Green 74
Labour 31
Conservative hold.— ALDC (@ALDC) June 17, 2021
Thanks to Helen Arundell for standing in these two postponed elections in Norwich:
Norwich City Council Sewell Ward postponed election
Green 1154
Labour 995
Conservative 316
Lib Dem Helen Arundell 39Green gain from Labour pic.twitter.com/LqttuNOEWS
— ALDC (@ALDC) June 17, 2021
Norfolk County Council Sewell division
Labour 1132
Green 1005
Conservative 320
Lib Dem Helen Arundell 40 pic.twitter.com/X3etmTB5sk— ALDC (@ALDC) June 17, 2021
There should be another result from Tandridge but I can’t find it anywhere right now. We’ll update this post tomorrow with that, the Kent result and East Garioch (pronounced Geary) in Aberdeenshire both of which count in the morning.
* Caron Lindsay is Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and blogs at Caron's Musings
2 Comments
Steve Griffiths (note correct spelling) was a very good councillor and campaigner in Witney in the 1990s and will do a great job in Somerset, representing a ward that includes the village of Blue Anchor.
Gareth, thanks for your kind remarks. I remember those great days of success in West Oxfordshire, of which you were very much a part.
I had a superb team here in West Somerset to get me over the line. The lesson from the Old Cleeve Ward campaign is NEVER stop knocking up on polling day. We carried on until the end in our strongest villages and still got out 15 or 20 more electors in the last hour and a half – the final individual being about 20 minutes before the close. You only have to look at our majority to see how crucial that was.
I have seen many campaigns over the years where Lib Dems have stopped knocking up early evening, after the first knock up and gone down the pub. I have heard others say that it doesn’t work. Just remember Old Cleeve and keep on and on – don’t stop!