Author Archives: ALDC

ALDC monitors and records the results of council by-elections on behalf of the Liberal Democrats. All our by-election results are also posted on our website.

Another busy night saw 10 principal by-elections, all in England and all with Lib Dem candidates. Fielding a full slate in the principal by-elections around the country in itself is a fantastic achievement.

One to watch this week was Broadstone ward in Poole with a by-election triggered by the resignation of the sitting Conservative councillor. Candidate Vikki Slade is fighting Conservative plans to bus services and youth services and will be a strong local voice, standing up for residents. Vikki and the team have convincingly beat the Tories into second place with a 24% swing and getting 69.3%. Fantastic work and well done!

The results in full are:
LD Vikki Slade 2184
Conservative 733
UKIP 121
Green 57
Labour 45
Majority: 1451
 LD gain from Conservatives
(Percentage change since 2015)

Two by-elections in Tim Farron country saw the team hold two seats for the Lib Dems on Cumbria County Council and South Lakeland District Council. They did this with a convincing lead over the Tories of 224 votes and 185 respectively. Well done to Steve Rooke who is now elected to Cumbria County Council and Andrew Jarvis elected to South Lakeland District Council.

This week has seen ten prinicipal council by-elections across the country – nine on Thursday and one on Tuesday night. Lib Dem candidates contested seven of the ten.

In the Tuesday night by-election in Plasnewydd (Cardiff) Lib Dem candidate Robin Rea had a spectacular win, gaining the ward from Labour with a 48.1% share of the vote (up +15.4% since the ward was last contested in 2012). Labour were pushed into second place on 34.8%, and Plaid Cymru, the Conservatives and the Greens all saw a drop in their vote share.  Congratulations to Cllr Rea and the team in Plasnewydd for an excellent result to round off our party conference!

Thursday night saw yet more Lib Dem gains. Alison Eden and the team in Teignmouth Central ward, Teignbridge BC almost doubled the Lib Dem vote share to gain the ward from the Conservatives. Alison and won the ward with an amazing 51.1% of the vote (+26.8% since 2015) and a majority of 205. Both the Conservatives and Labour both saw a drop in their vote share (of -3.7% and -8.1% respectively). Congratulations to Cllr Eden & the team for such an impressive result!

Another Lib Dem gain came in the form of Hadleigh ward, Suffolk County Council, where Trevor Sheldrick pushed the Tories into second place and won the ward with a 182 vote majority (36.2%; +12.0%).  A huge congratulations to Cllr Sheldrick and the team!

Last night saw six principal council by-elections held across the country and there were some fantastic results for the Lib Dems!

David Hancock and the team in Tupton ward in North East Derbyshire stormed to victory in a Labour stronghold with a 37.4% share of the vote. The team in Tupton worked incredibly hard on the ground to push Labour’s share of the vote down 33.9% (a decrease of 33.2%) following the resignation of a local Labour councillor.  The Conservatives came in third with 19.3% (-13.6%). Huge congratulations go to Cllr Hancock and everyone involved in the campaign – it really does show how hard work and determination in by-elections can pay off.

In Bishop’s Castle (Shropshire) candidate Jonny Keeley held the Lib Dem seat following the resignation of Charlotte Barnes. Jonny and the team ran a strong grassroots local campaign with extensive door knocking in the ward.  They comfortably held the seat with a 61% share of the vote, keeping the Tories in second place with 29.7% share of the vote.

Last night saw nine principal council by-elections take place across the country, with Lib Dem candidates standing across the board.

In Redcar & Cleveland Carole Morgan and the team comfortably held Ormesby ward following the resignation and sad passing of Ann Wilson, a tireless local campaigner and ward councillor since 2009.  Carole and the Lib Dem team ran a strong campaign on protecting local green spaces and opposing the Labour controlled council. Councillor Morgan was elected with an amazing 75.4% share of the vote – up 37.3% since 2015! UKIP struggled into second place with 10.6% (down 6.8%), and Labour came in third with 9.7% (down 9.4%).

What a fantastic set of results again. With by-elections on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday this week we have seen a great deal of success amongst Lib Dem teams.

On Tuesday night in East Hampshire, the Lib Dems increased their vote share by a massive 43.6% in The Hangers & Forest ward having not stood there in 2015. Sadly this still meant coming second, with the Conservatives holding the seat by just 9 votes.

News on Wednesday was extremely positive with a gain in Totnes. Labour had failed to stand a candidate in a seat they had previously held, although the Independent candidate was a Labour member. The Lib Dem candidate John Birch won with 812 votes, increasing our vote share by 14.6%. It is a ward where we lost narrowly, by 12 votes, to the Greens in the last by-election in October 2015.

John fought the campaign on tackling the acute shortage of affordable housing and rented social housing in South Hams stating that priority should be given to reducing the housing waiting list and continual development of affordable housing in Totnes.

Our normal by-election night of Thursday did not disappoint with two holds and one gain. In Sutton, the team’s 30 years winning streak in Carshalton Central continued. The team won with 43.4% of the vote, with the Conservatives coming second with 36.9%. Noticeably UKIP’s vote decreased by 10.5% since 2014 when the seat was last fought.

Last night saw three by-elections taking place, in Eden, Conwy and Suffolk Councils, with the Liberal Democrats putting up candidates on two of the ballots; Penelope Appleton stood in the Mostyn ward in Conwy, and Jon Neal for the Carlford ward in Suffolk. All of the seats were held by their previous party, but in both of the wards where we stood we enjoyed a vote increase, of 4.1% in Conwy and 4.2% in Suffolk.

In Eden just two candidates stood for the Appleby ward, making it the first contested election in this ward for 13 years, following the death of the Independent councillor Keith Morgan. The Conservatives were represented by Philip Guest, who ran against the Independent candidate Karen Greenwood, with the area remaining an Independent hold, by 187 votes to 67.

The Conwy by-election was prompted by the resignation of Labour Councillor Jobi Hold, and was successfully defended by Labour, despite a decrease in their voting share of 8.7%. Between all the parties which stood in the previous election in 2012, the Liberal Democrats experienced the largest increase in their voting share at 4.1%, totalling 126 votes for Appleton. 

Yesterday saw four principal council by-elections take place. In Southwark (LB), there was a comfortable hold for the Liberal Democrats in Surrey Docks ward. Dan Whitehead polled 51.7% to take victory with a 894 vote majority. The party’s vote share also increased by 21.1% from the previous election two years ago.

In the neighboring borough of Lambeth, Labour narrowly avoided losing a seat in Gipsy Hill ward to the Green Party. Labour received 43.4% of the vote but saw their vote share plummet by 23.6% from 2014 to finish just 36 votes ahead of the Greens. Rosa Jesse polled 3% to finish fourth out of seven candidates.

Elsewhere, Labour made easier work of holding a seat in South ward in North East Lincolnshire (UA), winning with a majority of 296 votes. However, the party lost it’s seat in Basildon Laindon Park and Fryerns division in Essex (CC), with UKIP taking the seat by 434 votes. Liberal Democrat candidates were not fielded in these two contests.

Just one principal by-election is scheduled to take place next Thursday. There will be an election to fill a seat in Valley Hill ward in Kings Lynn & West Norfolk (DC), following the death of an Independent Councillor. Kate Sayer will be standing for the Liberal Democrats.

Three principal council by-elections were held this week. In East Staffordshire (DC), Labour made a gain from UKIP in Stapenhill ward. They polled 44.3% and increased their vote share by 12.5% to take the seat and move their representation on the Council up to 13 Councillors. Hugh Warner polled 1.5% for the Liberal Democrats with the party not having a stood a candidate last year.

Elsewhere, there were two confortable holds for the Conservatives in Hambleton (DC) and North Yorkshire (CC). The Tories polled 48% and 48.3% in Northallerton South ward and Northallerton division respectively. There was no Liberal Democrat representation in either contest.

Next week, six principal Council by-elections will be taking place across England, Scotland and Wales. In Lewes (DC) Will Elliott will be hoping to secure a hold for the local Lib Dems in Lewes Bridge ward. In addition, Janet Baah will be the Lib Dem candidate as the party defend a seat on Lewes Town Council. The party will also be fielding candidates in contests in Lambeth (LB), Dorset (CC), Mid Suffolk (DC), Argyll & Bute (UA) and in two seperate by-election in Denbighshire (UA). There will also be a deffered election in Rushmoor (BC), although no Liberal Democrat candidate is standing.

Yesterday saw three principal council by-elections being held, one each in England, Scotland and Wales.

In Perth & Kinross (UA), the Conservatives made a gain in Almond & Earn ward from an Independent. The Tories received 48.1% of the first preference votes as they eventually won the seat after the third round of voting. Liberal Democrat candidate George Hayton polled 4.2% of the first preferences in finishing in fourth place.

However, the Conservatives did continue their recent run of by-election losses, losing a seat in Pocklington Provincial ward in the East Riding of Yorkshire (UA) to an Independent. The Independent candidate polled 38% to win the seat with a 52 vote majority. No Liberal Democrat candidate was fielded.

Elsewhere, Labour made a comfortable hold in Ynysddu ward in Caerphilly (UA), winning with 58.9% of the vote. Matthew Kidner received 4.2% of the vote for the Lib Dems, with the party not having stood in the ward in the 2012 or 2008 elections.

Another fairly quiet week on the by-election front saw just three principal by-elections – two in Allerdale in Cumbria and one in Kettering in Northamptonshire.

Allerdale on the west Cumbrian coast sadly saw no Liberal Democrat candidates in either of the two vacancies, all the more disappointing given we achieved 21% of the vote in the Dalton ward when it was fought last year. Dalton saw an Independent candidate take the ward from the Conservatives, who dropped to third and continue their poor run of council by-election results this year (they are now on -6 seats so far this year and with a 63% defence rate, although they have contested every seat). What was interesting in this result was that neither the winning party nor the runners-up (Labour) fought this ward last time. If you’re thinking this makes Allerdale sound like a council area in need of a severe injection of some democracy, then you are probably right, given the other vacancy in the Moss Bay ward in the town of Workington saw a competition between Labour and UKIP when last time all three Labour councillors were returned unopposed. Labour comfortably held on to the seat and leaves them on +1 in by-elections so far this year and with a 100% record of defending their seats (we are on +2 with an 86% defence rate).

Well done to Mel Gosliga, Chris Nelson and the team in Kettering in Northamptonshire who stood a candidate in the St. Peter’s ward within Kettering town itself. Despite garnering just 28 votes it puts the party on the map in the town, gave those 28 Lib Dem voters a chance to express their genuine political beliefs, and gives us a baseline to work from that we wouldn’t know without putting up a candidate. There is absolutely no reason why we couldn’t start to pick up councillors in Kettering, given the strength we have in towns not so dissimilar nearby such as the county town of Northampton and just down the railway line in Market Harborough. It just takes a keen team and some hardwork to make it happen, (although we appreciate the word ‘just’ does underestimate the hardwork somewhat). This by-election may be the start of that in Kettering.

There were two holds, one gain and one loss for Liberal Democrats in yesterday’s round of principal council by-elections. In Cambridgeshire (CC), the party made a gain from the Conservatives in Sutton division on the back of an impressive 18.5% swing from the Tories. Lorna Dupré polled 52.5%, a vote share increase of 19.7% from 2013, to take victory with a 412 vote majority.

Liberal Democrat candidates were also successful in contests in Flintshire (UA) and Lichfield (DC), as candidates Sara Parker and Paul Ray held seats for the party with 45.2% and 40% of the vote respectively.

There was less good news for the party in Chiltern (DC), as the Conservatives made a gain from us in Amersham Town ward. The Tories polled 50.2%, with Lib Dem candidate Richard Williams falling 135 votes short in second place.

Elsewhere, the Conservatives held a seat in Newmarket and Red Lodge division in Suffolk (CC), with Lib Dem Tim Huggan polling 4.8% in fourth place. The Tories also held seats in Toton & Chilwell Meadows and Greasley wards, whilst Roy Heal and Keith Longden polled 20.7% and 11.8% respectively for the Liberal Democrats. Also, Labour comfortably held one of their seats in Higher Blackley ward in Manchester (MB) with 65.3%. Lib Dem Peter Mathews polled 4.8% in fourth place, a vote share increase of 2.2% from last May.

Last week saw four principal council by-elections take place. In Eastleigh (BC), the Liberal Democrats held a seat in West End North ward with 53%. Janice Asman was elected with a 267 vote majority over the Conservatives, with the Lib Dem vote share increasing by 13.2% from the ward’s previous election last May.

In Hounslow (LB), there was a hold for Labour in Cranford with 54.7%, whilst Liberal Democrat Hina Malik polled 11.5% in third place, a vote share increase of 5.3% from two years ago. There were also comfortable holds for Labour in Coventry (MB) and Bolton (MB), with Lib Dems Christopher Glenn and Gary Veevers receiving 5.7% and 4.2% of the vote respectively.

Last Thursday saw four principal council by-elections take place. The Liberal Democrats in East Cambridgeshire (DC), came close to making a gain from the Conservatives in Bottisham ward. The party’s vote share increased by 9.8% from last May as candidate Steve Aronson fell just 17 votes short of the Tories.

In Northumberland (UA), no Lib Dem candidate was fielded in the by-election in Hexham West, where a non-description candidate made a gain from the Conservatives. The winning candidate had previously served as a Liberal Democrat councilor in the division.

The Tories also suffered a loss in Shropshire (UA), this time at the hands of the Greens, who secured a 14% swing from 2013 to make the gain. Liberal Democrat candidate Amanda Woof came fourth with 7.6% of the vote, a 1.8% increase from two years ago.