Tag Archives: local government by-elections

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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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 £500 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.

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ALDC

ALDC’s by-election report – 25 January 2018

By ALDC | Fri 26th January 2018 - 2:10 pm

A solitary by-election this week to round out January, as head across the Solent to the Isle of Wight, a former Liberal/Lib Dem stronghold which provided us with a very pleasing result considering we hadn’t had a candidate in the ward since 2009. Overall in January, we stood candidates in 8 out of 10 by-elections, giving us a total vote of 13.2% (up 5.9% on previous corresponding elections), although this rises to 21.6% (up 9.9% on previous corresponding elections) if you look at the by-elections we fought. Proof, in case any of you needed it, that you should always stand a candidate!

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.

Isle of Wight UA, Central Wight – Conservative hold
Con 547
LD Nick Stuart 286
Grn 143
Lab 101
UKIP 24
And so we head to the south coast and to the Isle of Wight, where we thank Nick Stuart for a very healthy second place, after not standing a candidate in the last two local elections on the island.
For many years, the Island was a Liberal stronghold, electing a Liberal MP to Westminster from February 1974 to 1987 in Stephen Ross, and was Lib Dem again in 1997 with Dr Peter Brand. Throughout that time, the island also regularly elected Lib Dems councils, but our success story ended in 2001 with the loss of both the MP and the council.
Ever since we’ve gradually fallen away, to the point where in the face of an organised Independent group we went down to 1 elected councillor in 2013. A slight improved in the face of the national swing to the Tories last May did, however, at long last, mark an end to the slide, and the team on the island were given an opportunity to test the (Fresh)water as Bob Seely resigned his Central Wight seat after replacing Andrew Turner as the MP in the 2017 general election.
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ALDC

ALDC’s by-election report – 11 January 2018

By ALDC | Sat 13th January 2018 - 8:50 am

Since the start of the year there have been 5 by-elections, with 5 more to come in the rest of January. It’s been a quieter start to the year after some stunning gains at the end of 2017, so hopefully we’ll begin to build up some momentum in the run-up to May in short time.

Hertsmere BC, Borehamwood Cowley – 4th January 2018 – Labour gain from Conservative
Lab 709
Con 381
UKIP 57
LD Paul Robinson 20
Green 18

Starting off with last week, a big thank you to Paul Robinson to flying the flag in Hertsmere. Although looking like a thumping gain for Labour, in reality Borehamwood Cowley is a seat that Labour has won or topped the poll for at least the last 20 years.

Kent CC, Birchington & Rural – 11th January 2018 – Conservative hold

Con 2534
Lab 856
LD Angie Curwen 561 <
UKIP 357
Grn 169

Thanet DC, Thanet Villages – 11th January 2018 – Conservative hold
Con 620
LD Angie Curwen 313
Lab 206 <
Grn 66
Ind 52
UKIP 0 ]

Next to Kent and a double thank you to Angie Curwen for being our candidate at District and County level, with a particularly pleasing second place from a standing start the District by-election. Notable here is no candidate for UKIP in Thanet Villages. Whilst UKIP have repeatedly failed to stand candidates since the General Election, this is particularly notable as UKIP still have minority control of Thanet DC, so for them to not stand a candidate in a council they control shows what kind of state they find themselves in.

Lancashire CC, Wyre Rural Central – 11th January 2018 – Conservative hold<

Con 1745
Lab 925
Grn 237

Wyre BC, Preesall – 11th January 2018 – Conservative hold

Con 930
Lab 753

We finish this week by heading up to Lancashire for another two tier by-election double, where the Conservatives comfortably defended both of their seats in Wyre, in spite of a modest Labour increase.

Next week we have 4 by-elections, with a defence in Rochford and 4 Lib Dem candidates to report on! See you next week.

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The Voice

George Taylor, 18, explains why he wants to be Lib Dem Councillor for East Brighton

By The Voice | Sat 6th January 2018 - 11:22 am

There’s a by-election coming up in East Brighton and the Lib Dems will be represented by a dynamic and energetic 18 year old candidate, George Taylor.

He explained to The Argus why he’s standing and what he hopes to achieve.

“I think in Brighton we’ve got quite a few problems.

“Homelessness is the main one. Just on St James’s Street where The Argus is you can see so many homeless people, we need to find a solution.

“There’s also housing. In Brighton it’s just too expensive. The chances are I’d still be with my parents if I became an MP.

“And recycling. We don’t

…

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ALDC

ALDC’s by-election report – 7 December 2017

By ALDC | Sat 9th December 2017 - 8:51 am

A quieter night this week, with only 2 by-elections held across the country, but still room for a successful night with another gain from the Tories, making it 8 gains in 6 weeks since the start of November.

 
North Devon DC, Newport – Lib Dem gain from Conservative
 
LD Caroline Leaver 390
Con 373
Grn 159
Lab 83
Once again we find ourselves congratulating the team in North Devon as they pick up another seat off the Conservatives with Caroline Leaver the new councillor. Our successes in North Devon have wiped out the Conservatives-led majority on the council and continue the pleasing trend of results in our former strongholds.
Enfield LB, Enfield Highway – Labour hold
 
Lab 1619
Con 620
Grn 79
UKIP 0 ]
BNP 0 ]
No Lib Dem candidate as Labour comfortably hold this seat in North London. As well as UKIP’s ongoing slide into irrelevance (for the last month they have stood candidates in less than 1 in 4 of the contests, a far worse statistic than the appalling vote shares they’re getting) it is interesting to note that the Greens have fallen in the both the contests here too, something which has been happening pretty consistently since the general election.
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Caron Lindsay

Did the Lib Dems GAIN that seat in Devon from the Tories?

By Caron Lindsay | Thu 7th December 2017 - 11:22 pm

The party had high hopes of gaining a seat in Devon from the Tories tonight.

So did we pull it off?

Nice one, Caroline Leaver and team.

Sadly we didn’t have a candidate in the only other principal by-election of the night, in Enfield which Labour won convincingly.

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Caron Lindsay

FOUR amazing GAINS with massive swings in Lib Dem by-election clean sweep

By Caron Lindsay | Thu 30th November 2017 - 11:18 pm

There were four by-elections tonight. All won by the Liberal Democrats in areas of the country where we haven’t been too strong in recent years.

Great to see a Lib Dem GAIN in Gainsborough tonight. The town council seat was won by Neil Cook.

Congratulations.

Interesting that the postal vote was such a large proportion of the …

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Caron Lindsay

Another Thursday, more Lib Dem GAINS

By Caron Lindsay | Thu 23rd November 2017 - 10:47 pm

Excellent news from Leicestershire tonight where Angela Williams became Church Ward and Earl Shilton’s first ever Lib Dem Councillor with a whopping 68% of the vote. That’s another cracking campaign run by Michael Mullaney and the Bosworth local party who are constantly a beacon of Lib Dem hope in the East Midlands.

And there’s more good news from that Yorkshire:

And a trio of Town Council wins is completed with the election of newbie Andy Soughton, who joined hte party last year, to Yeovil Town Council.

Thanks to Sheila Kingston-Jones who flew the Lib Dem flag in Bryncoch South in Neath/Port Talbot. Nearly 100 people need to be found because they voted Lib Dem in a place which is not a hotbed of Lib Demmery. If even a tenth of them joined the party, just think what they could do.. And it’s up 3.3% from last time.

A good result in Eyres Monsell, too – 8% higher than in 2010 but 23& higher than the last time it was fought. Well done, Tony Faithfull-Wright.


.
Bit of a Labour surge in the wonderfully named Cotswold ward of Grumbolds Ash, but the Tories were pretty unassailable there.

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