Tag Archives: local government by-elections

Caron Lindsay

The Merton Machine smashes it – another Lib Dem GAIN

By Caron Lindsay | Fri 21st June 2019 - 7:59 am

What a fantastic result to wake up to! Honestly, I tried to stay awake, but I just couldn’t.

We got 8% last time!

Let’s hear it for the amazing Merton Machine and Cllr Jennifer Gould. Super Six now becomes Magnificent Seven!

And we had another amazing step forward in Furzedown ward in Wandsworth – up 18% for goodness sake.

Nice work from Jon Irwin and his team.

And another super increase in vote share from Julie Burridge in the Isle of Wight.

Thanks to Frank Little in Wales for flying the Lib Dem flag and giving people the chance to vote for us.

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Posted in News | 24 Comments
Caron Lindsay

Lib Dems GAIN two Council seats in Broxtowe

By Caron Lindsay | Thu 13th June 2019 - 11:50 pm

It was a night of solid progress for the Lib Dems on the by-election front.

In Anna Soubry’s Broxtowe constituency, we regained two Council seats we’d lost in 2015.

And a good solid result from a standing start in North Devon, too.

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Caron Lindsay

Well that’s one hell of a by-election gain…

By Caron Lindsay | Fri 7th June 2019 - 12:59 am

Wow!

Well, it’s technically a postponed election.

Congratulations to Cllr Chris Bartrum and team.

Dan Schmeising is always around with an inspiring graphic.

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Posted in News | 5 Comments
Caron Lindsay

Great hold in Durham with increased vote share

By Caron Lindsay | Thu 21st March 2019 - 11:31 pm

I’m on by-election duty for ALDC tonight. And the first result of the night’s six by-elections was a cracker.

Nicely done, Bev. Congratulations to you and your team.

And in Southend on Sea, there was an advance of nearly 10% for Carol White:

And great to be standing a candidate in Thurroci:

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Posted in News | 8 Comments
ALDC

ALDC’s by-election report – 31 January 2019

By ALDC | Fri 1st February 2019 - 7:25 pm

We’re back for 2019 after a quiet January of by-elections. One by-election took place yesterday in Warlingham for Surrey County Council. In freezing weather, there was an unsurprising low turnout of 25% but a decent battle nonetheless.

Surrey CC, Warlingham – 31st January 2019
Con 1199
LD Charles Lister 990
UKIP 176
Lab 126
Turnout 25%
Con Hold
Percentage change from 2017

Liberal Democrat candidate Charles Lister put on a strong campaign and managed to increase his vote by 10.8%. This increase saw Charles come within 210 votes of the Conservative candidate who lost 8.1% of their vote share. The result is a second place that gives optimism ahead of the local elections and should encourage hard work across the country between now and May. A solid result for Charles and the party, congratulations and keep up the good work!

Next week there are six by-elections taking place and some good contests expected. 

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Caron Lindsay

Your by-election result tonight brought to you by….

By Caron Lindsay | Thu 31st January 2019 - 11:22 pm

I’m doing a bit of moonlighting tonight.

ALDC is always first with the by-election results and they’ve decided to recruit a team of volunteers to report them.

It’s a great way to get involved and it’s something you can do on your sofa in your pyjamas while watching Question Time. Don’t worry, I won’t post a photo.

All you need to do is keep an eye on a couple of places on the internet and post the results in a few places.

If you fancy a shot at doing this, drop ALDC a message on Twitter. 

Tonight, there’s just the one by-election – Warlingham division on Surrey County Council. The Conservatives are defending and last time round we came second. Our candidate, Charles Lister, has fought the ward twice before, in 2017 and 2013.

So now, we wait.

And it was worth sitting up for – a really good increase in vote share. 

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ALDC

ALDC’s by-election review of 2018

By ALDC | Sat 22nd December 2018 - 8:55 am

It’s fair to say 2018 has been a great year for the Lib Dems with some resounding successes in by-elections nationally. 

We made 26 fantastic gains, with 19 of these coming from the Conservatives! A full list of our 26 excellent gains is below:

  • Arun DC, Marine – LD Matt Stanley gain from Conservative.
  • Aylesbury Vale DC, Quainton – LD Scott Raven gain from Conservative.
  • Bath & North East Somerset UA, Kingsmead – LD Sue Craig gain from Conservative.
  • Broadland DC, Aylesham – LD Sue Catchpole gain from Conservative
  • Chesterfield BC, Moor – LD Tony Rogers gain from Labour.
  • Chichester DC, Rogate – LD Kate O’Kelly gain from Conservative.
  • Dacorum BC, Northchurch – LD Lara Pringle gain from Conservative.
  • East Hertfordshire DC, Watton-at-Stone – LD Sophie Bell gain from Conservative.
  • Hertfordshire CC, Three Rivers Rural – LD Phil Williams gain from Conservative.
  • Highland UA, Caol & Mallaig – LD Denis Rixson gain from SNP.
  • Mendip DC, Wells St. Thomas – LD Tom Ronan gain from Conservative.
  • North Norfolk DC, Worstead – LD Saul Penfold gain from Conservative.
  • North Yorkshire CC, Knaresborough – LD David Goode gain from Conservative.
  • South Northamptonshire DC, Whittlewood – LD Abigail Medina gain from Conservative.
  • South Oxfordshire DC, Benson & Crowmarsh – LD Sue Cooper gain from Conservative.
  • Southwark LB, London Bridge & West Bermondsey – LDs Humaira Ali, William Houngbo and Damian O’Brien (2 gains in New ward boundary.
  • Sunderland MB, Pallion – LD Martin Haswell gain from Labour.
  • Teignbridge DC, Chudleigh – LD Margaret Evans gain from Conservative.
  • Teignbridge DC, Dawlish Central & North East – LD Martin Wrigley gain from Conservative. 
  • Warrington UA, Lymm South – LD Anna Fradgley gain from Conservative. 
  • Warwickshire CC, Stratford North – LD Dominic Skinner gain from Independent.
  • Waveney DC, Southwold & Reydon – LD David Beavan gain from Conservative.
  • West Berkshire UA, Thatcham West – LD Jeff Brooks gain from Conservative.
  • West Somerset DC, Alcombe – LD Nicole Hawkins gain from UKIP.
  • West Somerset DC, Minehead South – LD Benet Allen gain from Independent. 

We successfully defended 18 seats too. Holding onto seats relies on excellent work from campaigners on the ground and from candidates taking time out of their lives to represent the Party.

Along with these 18 holds there were also eight tough losses, however we’re sure that with hard work and perseverance these seats can be won back next time round. Standing a candidate is extremely important in ensuring that people always have the option of voting for the Lib Dems.

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Posted in Op-eds | 4 Comments
Caron Lindsay

Updated: Two strong holds for Lib Dems in by-elections and a GAIN

By Caron Lindsay | Thu 29th November 2018 - 11:57 pm

While Layla was putting in a storming performance on Question Time, her Oxfordshire colleagues were finishing off polling day in Wheatley ward. We were seeking to defend the seat we won by a whisker last year. Could Tim Bearder hold on?

Well, yes. By quite a lot.

It shows how well served the people in the ward have been by our Kirsten Johnson these past 18 months.

We also had a super hold in Aylesbury for Anders Christenson.

We can definitely forgive his Mum her moment of pride:

Typically, the gain happened after I went to bed…congratulations, Dominic Skinner.

And Christina Raven didn’t win, but she made a huge leap forward in Welwyn Hatfield. The Tories will be worried now.

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Posted in News | 9 Comments
ALDC

ALDC by-election review – 15 November

By ALDC | Fri 16th November 2018 - 7:56 pm

Four by elections took place on an eventful day for politics as a whole in the UK, with Lib Dem candidates standing in all four seats. 

Oxfordshire CC, Grove & Wantage
LD Jane Hanna 1925
Con 1447
Lab 459
Green 185
Turnout 27.85%
LD Hold
Percentage change from 2017

The outstanding result from the night came in the Grove & Wantage by-election for Oxfordshire County Council. Jane Hanna and the Oxfordshire Lib Dems put on a great campaign and increased their vote by 4.6% increasing their majority to strengthen their hold on the seat. A fantastic result for Jane and the party, congratulations and keep up the good work!

Kent CC, Canterbury North
Cons 1355
LD Alex Lister 756
Lab 660
Green 157
Ind 155
UKIP 120
Turnout 26.04%
Con Hold
Percentage change from 2017

A hard-worked campaign from Alex Lister and Kent Lib Dems saw a great swing of 7.1% cementing the Lib Dems place as the second party in the ward. The result saw the Conservatives lose 12.3% of their vote share highlighting the excellent performance from Lister despite defeat. Congratulations and let’s hope this result provides a platform for an increased focus on liberalism in the area. 

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ALDC

ALDC by-election report – 8 November 2018

By ALDC | Fri 9th November 2018 - 2:46 pm

There were four seats up for grabs this week in what was a tricky week for the party. Lib Dem candidates stood in all four elections however faced some tough tests in relatively safe seats. We’d like to thank our candidates Nigel Bakhai, Lesley Rideout, Christopher Styles-Power and Robert Thurston for all their hard work campaigning and for representing the party in some difficult battles.

Ealing LB, Dormers Wells

Lab 1868
Con 429
LD Nigel Bakhai 188
Green 106

Turnout 26%
Lab Hold
Percentage change from 2018

Harlow DC, Bush Fair 

Labour 543
Con 460
UKIP …

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ALDC

ALDC by-election report – 25 October 2018

By ALDC | Fri 26th October 2018 - 2:37 pm

11 by-elections took place last night with 10 Lib Dem candidates standing. A great night saw 3 Lib Dem gains in marginal seats, and some very closely run battles in others.

Mendip DC, Wells St. Thomas – LD Gain from Con
LD Tom Ronan 594
Con 493
Lab 131
]

Wells City Council, Wells St. Thomas – LD Gain from Con
LD Caroline McKinnell 605
Con 489
Lab 128
]
]
]
]

A great night in Wells saw 2 fabulous gains for the Lib Dems from the Conservatives. In the Mendip District Council election, Tom Ronan and the …

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Caron Lindsay

A very sweet Lib Dem GAIN in Chesterfield

By Caron Lindsay | Fri 5th October 2018 - 12:12 am

Back in 1994 or thereabouts, we failed to gain a labour seat in a by-election by a handful of votes. 17 stuck in my mind, but Paul Holmes tells me it’s 34. 17 extra voters.

Tonight, we won that Moor ward seat by a few more votes – a gain from Labour.

That is THE legendary Tony Rogers, becoming …

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Caron Lindsay

We’re back to GAINING on a Thursday night…

By Caron Lindsay | Thu 16th August 2018 - 11:44 pm

After disappointment last week, we’ve GAINED a seat tonight:

Well done to David Goode and his team.

And a gain in vote share from a standing start for Andy Minty in Bury:

Sadly we didn’t have …

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Posted in News and Op-eds | 39 Comments
Caron Lindsay

How you can help Sarah Brown win in Cambridge

By Caron Lindsay | Tue 14th August 2018 - 9:58 pm

A Cambridge Council by-election has made national headlines this week after a Labour Councillor resigned because she didn’t agree with the terms of the Equality Act, which has been in force since 2010.

Our candidate in the by-election is former Councillor for the ward and former Executive Councillor for Community Wellbeing Sarah Brown.

From Pink News:

Ahead of the September 13 by-election, the Liberal Democrats picked respected transgender activist Sarah Brown as the candidate for Sinnott’s vacated Petersfield seat.

Brown, a polyamorous transgender lesbian campaigner, previously held the seat from 2010 until 2014.

The candidate said: “Petersfield is where I live and I aim to champion it as I already know how – and as I did before.”

She added: “I am sad to see the campaign to turn the clock back on the city council’s equalities policy, which I will resist.

“It’s right that the needs and rights of transgender people, along with other groups, are recognised here, as national legislation expects.

“Cambridge has led by example on diversity, tolerance and liberal values, and we must defend that leadership from those who seek to divide us.”

It’s good to see the official Lib Dems Twitter account get behind her:

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Caron Lindsay

Disappointment in Cornwall

By Caron Lindsay | Fri 10th August 2018 - 7:53 am

Disappointing news from Cornwall overnight – our excellent candidate Stephen Daniell didn’t make it in his attempt to hold the seat in a by-election caused by the sad death of Paul Summers. Paul had won the seat in a by-election in July 2016 from UKIP.

Even though this wasn’t a seat we had a long connection with, it is still sad to lose. Commiserations to the team. …

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Posted in News | 39 Comments
The Voice

Lib Dem Town Council by-election GAIN and hold in Colne

By The Voice | Sun 5th August 2018 - 6:12 pm

Good news from Lancashire this week – a strong performance in town Council By-elections in Colne.

ALICE MANN Liberal Democrat 394
JAMIE HARGREAVES Liberal Democrat 356
Nathan McCollum CON 187
Linda McCollum CON 186
Tony Harmson LAB 185
Patricia Hannah-Wood LAB 180

One LD gain from Labour and one LD hold.

Congratulations to Alice and Jamie and their campaign team.

Posted in News | 1 Comment
Caron Lindsay

A very strong hold in Oxfordshire

By Caron Lindsay | Fri 20th July 2018 - 7:56 am

Oxford Liberal Democrats pulled off a brilliant hold last night, getting over 60% of the vote.

Congratulations to Cllr Stefanie Garden

There was a bit of a Conservative surge in Bury but we managed to hold our own in terms of vote share as …

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Posted in News | 12 Comments
Caron Lindsay

Fancy sending a message to our new Brexit Secretary?

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 11th July 2018 - 8:41 pm

Dominic Raab is a staunch Leave MP representing a constituency which voted strongly to Remain.

He was elevated to the Cabinet after David Davies’ resignation presumably because Theresa May was doing everything she could do to avoid giving the job to Michael Gove.

He and the Prime Minister crossed swords before, back in 2011, when he referred to feminist ideas as “obnoxious bigotry”

If you want to learn more about him, he actually wrote on this site back in 2015. The comments tell you a bit more about why.

Later that year, during the election campaign, Tim Farron said he represented …

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Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged and | 3 Comments
Caron Lindsay

Lib Dem GAIN Council seat in Bath and North East Somerset

By Caron Lindsay | Fri 6th July 2018 - 7:42 am

Good news from the West Country.

Congratulations to Cllr Sue Craig and her team.

It wasn’t a good night for the Conservatives as they lost a seat to Labour in Lichfield too – and we got 6.6% of the vote in a ward where we didn’t put up a candidate the last time.

…

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Posted in News | 13 Comments
Caron Lindsay

A duo of Lib Dem GAINS and a good hold

By Caron Lindsay | Fri 22nd June 2018 - 7:46 am

There was quite a crop of by-elections last night. Three were of particular interest to the Liberal Democrats.

You thought you’d seen big swings to us before but Abigail Medina produced a stunner in Whittlewood in South Northamptonshire:

My eyes are watering from that one.

Sorry, new Cllr Hawkins, because on any other day, your 39.2% from a standing start gain from UKIP would be at the top of this post:

Posted in News | 26 Comments
Caron Lindsay

A Lib Dem GAIN and some good vote increases in last night’s by-elections

By Caron Lindsay | Fri 8th June 2018 - 7:06 am

Good news from Oxfordshire where Liberal Democrat Sue Cooper took a seat from the Conservatives in pretty spectacular style.

And we upped our vote from a standing start to 32.5% in Devon:

Posted in News | 5 Comments
Caron Lindsay

Let’s celebrate another amazing Highland Lib Dem GAIN

By Caron Lindsay | Fri 6th April 2018 - 9:36 pm

Great news this morning which I’ve been unable to share with you until now because I’ve been at work.

There have been a few Lib Dem gains in the Highlands in recent years – Carolyn Caddick in Inverness South, Jean Davis in Aird and Loch Ness and Trish Robertson in Culloden and Ardersier. Today they were joined by Denis Rixson in Caol and Mallaig. This is a bit of Charles Kennedy’s old seat turned gold again and taken from the SNP.

I’ve been hearing from Lib Dems on the ground that it felt good, but I’m not sure anyone actually expected us …

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Caron Lindsay

Lib Dems GAIN a Council seat in Aylesbury

By Caron Lindsay | Fri 23rd March 2018 - 7:32 am

Good news from Aylesbury where new Cllr Waheed Raja gained the Central and Walton ward from the Conservatives.

We actually lost this ward by a single vote back in 2011. It’s great to see Waheed and the team win it back with a really good swing.

During my long time in the East Midlands, I knew that Worksop was not exactly a Lib Dem hotspot, so it was good to see a respectable result from a standing start for Leon Duveen in the Worksop South East ward:

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Caron Lindsay

A pre-Conference Lib Dem GAIN with an almighty swing

By Caron Lindsay | Thu 8th March 2018 - 11:25 pm

Nice work, Lara Pringle and team!

And this is what is known as one hell of a swing.

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Posted in News | 19 Comments
Caron Lindsay

Lib Dem hold Council seat in East Devon

By Caron Lindsay | Fri 2nd March 2018 - 8:08 am

Electoral law takes no account of the Beast from the East. Once an election is set, it goes ahead regardless. Returning Officers have no discretion to alter the timetable.

So, yesterday in East Devon, the Lib Dems quietly held a Council seat despite a strong challenge from an Independent.

Well done to Tim Dumper and the team. I hope they have thawed out.

Other by-elections took place in Clackmannanshire, Basingstoke and Solihull and we had candidates in all of them. This post will be updated with the results when they are known.

Update: A respectable 10% from a standing start.

And an increase in vote share in Basingstoke.

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Posted in News | 10 Comments
Caron Lindsay

Mixed by-election results – two good GAINs but two losses

By Caron Lindsay | Fri 23rd February 2018 - 7:56 am

We’ll start with the bad news and disappointment of two losses to the Tories in Dorset.

Hugely popular District and County Councillor Ros Kayes stood down for work reasons. A former Mayor of Bridport, even her opponents admired her. Even with strong local candidates and campaign, we couldn’t hold off the Conservatives.

…

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Caron Lindsay

ICYMI: A hat-trick of Lib Dem GAINS in last night’s by-elections

By Caron Lindsay | Fri 16th February 2018 - 8:38 am

Last night was a good night for Lib Dems across the country:

Brilliant from Martin Wrigley and team.

Congratulations, Margaret Evans and team.

Well done to Saul Penfold and team.

And we had some pretty impressive increases in vote share in 3 more contests.

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Posted in News | 24 Comments
Caron Lindsay

Can you help elect April in May?

By Caron Lindsay | Sat 10th February 2018 - 1:34 pm

Two years ago, former Manchester Withington Lib Dem MP was elected as a Councillor in Manchester. Since then he has valiantly provided the only opposition to the under-achieving Labour Council. Seriously, this lot are as good an argument for PR as you are ever going to find.  They have a huge sense of entitlement to power and they really don’t like opposition which John has been providing in generous and disproportionate amounts. 

John is great but it would be amazing if he could have some support in the Council chamber.

Standing in the Withington ward this May are April Preston and Alex Warren. April is amazing and no stranger to challenging things that just aren’t right. She crowdfunded the money to pay for one of the best fringe meetings I’d ever been to at a Federal Conference on feminism in York two years ago.

The Withington team has set up a crowdfunder for their campaign and it’s raised ÂŁ500 in just a few days. They say:

Withington Ward Liberal Democrats will strive to put community back into the Council and with your help we will be able to challenge officials that neglect our beloved city.

Our candidates in this year’s elections are: April Preston, and Alex Warren.

April Preston was the first spokesperson for Stockport Young Carers and has been passionate activist from the age of 10 and continues to campaign on a wide on a wide range of issues from mental health to children leaving care. April is also a is a trustee of Autistic Association of Greater Manchester, she has campaigned to repeal Section 28, and against the Iraq war. April has also argued against the council’s treatment of our homeless and chaired events fighting for a more diverse and tolerant society.

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ALDC

ALDC’s by-election report 2 February 2017

By ALDC | Sat 3rd February 2018 - 8:55 am

February’s bumper set of by-elections started with a bang for us last night with a quite frankly ridiculous swing in Sunderland, as well as a tie for second place in Cornwall. It gives me great pleasure to inform you all that as of last night we are up 32.7% on previous corresponding elections.

A huge thank you to last night’s brilliant team of volunteers who make calls for these campaigns. ALDC’s grants are available to help in vital by-elections and are funded through vital fighting fund donations. If you can help us fight in even more wards, please donate here.

underland MB, Pallion – Lib Dem gain from Labour

LD Martin Haswell 1251
Lab 807
Con 126
UKIP 97
Green 39

Can the rest of us have what you lot are having in Sunderland please? Almost exactly a year after the stunning success in Sandhill, Martin Haswell proved himself the be the best local candidate with the best local campaign focusing on:

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Caron Lindsay

Lib Dems GAIN another Council seat in Sunderland

By Caron Lindsay | Thu 1st February 2018 - 11:32 pm

Only two by-elections tonight and we are off to a good start.

And we did kind of hammer them.

LD Martin Haswell 1251
Lab 807
Con 126
UKIP 97
Green 39

When we stood in the ward in 2016, we got 91 votes.

This is becoming a habit!. Last year, we gained another seat in Sunderland with a 33% swing.

Well done.

Posted in News | Also tagged | 22 Comments
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