The Voice

Tories lose control in Basingstoke

By | Fri 25th January 2008 - 9:55 pm

Hampshire News brings us the glad tidings:

The Conservatives lost overall control of Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council last night after the Liberal Democrats won the Baughurst by-election.

Liberal Democrat Michael Bound secured 428 votes to beat Tory Zoe Wheddon, who polled 368 votes. The turnout was 41 per cent.

The by-election was called after the death of sitting Conservative councillor Sheila Allen, in September.

The result wiped out the Conservatives’ majority, leaving them with half the 60 council seats. The Liberal Democrats now have 16 councillors, while the Labour group retains 11 and the independents three.

This is the latest good result for the Lib Dems (and poor result for the Tories) in Hampshire, a key election battlezone.

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4 Comments

  • tony hill 25th Jan '08 - 11:00pm

    Since the autumn there have been four by-elections in Hampshire: Whitchurch (NW Hants constituency) – Lib Dem hold; Wickham (Meon Valley constituency, currently represented by Mark Oaten) – LibDem hold; Romsey – LibDem hold; and now this gain in NW Hants constituency. In addition there were the holds and gain in the Newbury constituency earlier this month. I am not blindly partisan, but these are good results for us and bad ones for the Tories in an area of the country where conventional wisdom has it that they have been gaining ground on us since Cameron was elected.

  • David (s) 26th Jan '08 - 4:22pm

    Lot of issues about the Sandwell loss.
    Might be worth an analysis.

  • crewegwyn 28th Jan '08 - 2:01pm

    The greatest sadness of Sandwell was that it was the seat of the late Martyn Smith – one of the great characters of local government Liberalism.

    There is something especially sad when we fail to hold seats like this, so carefully nurtured by great servants of the cause.

  • tony hill 8th Feb '08 - 8:26pm

    And now five by-elections in Hampshire, and another Lib Dem gain from the Tories, this time at the other end of the county in Portsmouth.

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