Camden LBC, Kentish Town
Lab 1411 (53.0; +17.7)
LD Nick Russell 715 (26.9; -3.6)
Green 349 (13.1; -4.7)
Con 186 (7.0; -5.1)
[Other (0.0; -1.7)]
[BNP (0.0; -2.7)]
Majority 696
Turnout 26.02%
Lab HOLD
Percentage change is since May 2010
South Lanarkshire UA, East Kilbride West
Lab 847 (41.4; +0.8)
SNP 571 (27.9; -2.4)
Con 403 (19.7; +5.7)
Green 82 (4.0; +0.2)
East Kilbride Alliance 71 (3.5; -0.7)
LD Gordon Smith 70 (3.4; -3.7)
Turnout 17.44%
Labour HOLD
Percentage change is since May 2007
See here for the breakdown of votes for each stage of the count.
Cheltenham BC, Springbank
LD Chris Coleman 722 (66.4; -2.9)
Con 188 (17.3; -13.4)
Lab 142 (13.1; +13.1)
Green 35 (3.2; +3.2)
Majority 534
Turnout not known
LD HOLD
Percentage change is since May 2010
See the article in This Is Gloucestershire.
Great Aycliffe Town Council, West
Lab 388 (46.7)
Ind 286 (34.5)
LD Janine Mawson 156 (18.8)
Majority 102
Turnout 19.19%
Lab HOLD
For full commentary, and details of forthcoming by-elections, visit the ALDC website.
13 Comments
Just a wee pedantic point. The figures for the South Lanarkshire by-election are actually the totals for the first round – remember, we use STV up in Scotland for local authority elections (aren’t Lib Dems great in government!)
It didn’t affect this result, but there have been two by-elections where the first round “winner” lost out on transfers, one of which we gained in Aberdeenshire.
As I mentioned, you can get full details from the ALDC website, but I’ve now added in an extra link.
I’m sorry – I just don’t recognise your take on Kentish Town.
Labour thrashed the Lib Dems last night in a council seat that was until May held by Nick Clegg’s party.
The by-election in Camden council’s Kentish Town ward saw a 10 per cent swing away from the LibDems.
Looks like Labour exploited BSF funding cuts to local secondary schools, fears over housing benefit, child benefit reforms to good effect.
The results were as follows:
Lab 1411 (53%, +16.4), LD 715 (26.9%, -4.1), Green 349 (13.1%, -2.1), Con 186 (7%, -5.4). Swing of 10.3% from LD to Lab since May this year.
I’m also surprised that you haven’t commented on the all-round huge swings to Labour – irrespective of result.
Labour strategists will doubtless be asking themselves how their candidate managed to get only 13.1% in a solidly working-class suburb of Cheltenham. Oh, silly me, I forgot. If you are working-class and are unfortunate enough to live in areas disapproved of or rejected by Labour, the mass party of the working-class doesn’t want to know you.
Cuse
“I’m also surprised that you haven’t commented on the all-round huge swings to Labour – irrespective of result.”
Could be because there aren’t “all-round huge swings to Labour”.
For example it seems that Labour haven’t stood in Springbank Ward, Cheltenham BC, since 2004. Comparing the result last night with that in 2004 there was a swing against Labour, to Lib Dems, of 5.9%.
Labour appear to be doing well in their strong areas, but, for example made no gains off Lib Dems in the 88 principal council by-elections held in September and October.
Further analysis will be posted within the next day or so on the Birkdale Blog http://birkdalefocus.blogspot.com/
Hello Simon. I see you’re miffed at me again…
Kentish Town: Labour vote up 17.7%. LD vote down 3.6%
South Lanks: Labour vote up 0.8%. LD vote down 3.7%
Cheltenham: Labour vote up 13.1%. LD vote down 2.9%. Let’s type that again.
Cheltenham Springbank: Labour vote up 13.1%. LD vote down 2.9%
By any measure – that’s an impressive set of results.
@Sesenco
Or maybe, perish the thought, the voters of Cheltenham don’t fit your prejudice that working poor = Labour all the time.
The Scottish result is interesting, if purely for the fun at looking at vote redistribution, particularly as the Lib Dem was the first eliminated. More votes transferred to the Conservatives than to Labour.
@Ryan M
I actually didn’t think you could read too much into the vote redistribution from the Lib Dems. 37.5% went to the Conservatives and 50% to Labour/SNP (25% to each).
I thought the interesting redistribution was when the Conservative was eliminated. As much as 40% of his transfers went to Labour and “only” 60% to SNP.
Ryan M,
Are you being unduly obtuse today? Read again, and you will see that I was mocking Labour’s claim to speak for the working-class.
Cuse
Have you not studied the Cheltenham result. The only reason that the Labour vote was up 13.1% is because they didn’t stand last time or the time before that or even the time before that. So actually a 13.1% increase from nothing is not really that spectacular.
Labour delivered 3 leaflets in the ward ( a record in any part of Cheltenham) attacking the coalition but failed to make any progress on the last time that they actually did stand.
@Cuse
I didn’t notice your last post, but having been prompted by what Cheltenham Robin said, I have now read it.
Do you not understand that Labour haven’t stood in Springbank Ward, Cheltenham Borough since 2004?
As such, how could their vote not go up?
Most of us wouldn’t really know whether Labour going up from 0% to 13.1% is “impressive” as you claim, or not.
So I checked on the results the last time that Labour managed to stand – which was 2004
Compared to that time there has been a swing FROM Labour TO Lib Dems of 5.9%.
If you really think that is an “impressive” result for Labour, then you are clearly easily pleased.
Hi Simon, Hi Robin.
Firstly Gentlemen – I’m a little unsure why you feel the need to post such vitriol. Simon, you especially seem angry. Lots of bold and capitals.
The statement “An impressive set of results for Labour” still stands. With LD votes going down by between 3 to 4% in all wards as Labour votes go up, I don’t need to insult you to maintain that the Labour Party has had a good night.
Cuse
Firstly Gentlemen – I’m a little unsure why you feel the need to post such vitriol. Simon, you especially seem angry. Lots of bold and capitals.
1. Could you please look up the meaning of “vitriol”. You would then see that it could, in no way, be applied to what Cheltenham Robin and I have posted. If a Labour troll were to keep posting inaccuracies, then surely it would bereasonable to correct those inaccuracies.
2. If you could tell me how to UNDERLINE in html, then I wouldn’t have to use BOLD. The only reason to use either is to emphasise something which you appear to have consistently misunderstood.
3. I don’t need to insult you to maintain that the Labour Party has had a good night. The only election of the three where the Labour Party could be said to have had a “good night” is Camden. You seem to be unable to comprehend that the Lib Dems won in Cheltenham with two-thirds of the vote; that Labour hadn’t even bothered to stand for the last 5 years, so that any vote at all would represent an increase (from 0%); and that compared to when Labour last bothered to stand there has been a swing against Labour, and to the Lib Dems of 5.9%.