Council by-elections
As well as Eastleigh, there were four council by-elections on Thursday
night. All showed good performances by Labour:
Beaver Ward, Ashford BC. Lab hold. Lab 296 (35.8%, -1.7), Con 158 (19.1%,
-8.7), UKIP 155 (18.8%, +18.8), Ashford Ind 85 (10.3%, -2.1), LD 79 (9.6%,
-9.8), Ind 34 (4.1%, +4.1), Green 19 (2.3%, -0.3). Swing of 3.5% from Con to Lab
since Nov 2011 by-election, and of 7% since May 2011.
Berrylands Ward, RB Kingston-upon-Thames. LD hold. LD 948 (39.5%, -3.9),
Con 761 (31.0%, -5), Lab 455 (18.6%, +9.2), UKIP 175 (7.1%, +7.1), Green 112
(4.6%, -4.8). Swing of 0.6% from Con to LD since 2010. This is a good result for
the LDs in a split ward, and for Labour which almost doubled its vote share when
a tactical squeeze might have been expected.
Coatbridge Ward, North Lanarkshire UA. Lab hold. First preference votes:
Labour 2145 (78.8%, +4), SNP 452 (16.6%, -5.8), Con 71 (2.6%, -0.2), UKIP 34
(1.2%, +1.2), LD 19 (0.7%, +0.7). Swing of 4.9% from SNP to Lab since 2012.
Pensby & Thingwall Ward, Wirral MBC. Lab gain from Con. Lab 1411
(38.5%, +5.7), Con 868 (23.7%, -4.7), LD 834 (22.7%, -2.5), UKIP 426 (11.6%,
+2.4), Green 74 (2%, -2.4), Eng Dem 53 (1.4%, +1.4). Swing of 5.2% from Con to
Lab since 2012. Excellent result for Labour in a ward that was Tory in 2011 and
LD, with Labour in 3rd place, for the 3 elections before that. This is in Wirral
West parliamentary constituency, number 45 on Labour’s target list of key seats.
posted by Luke Akehurst at 5:52 pm
2 Comments:
Eastleigh is a worry for me, I'm not bothered about Labour coming fourth but I think it is worrying Labour didn't increase its share over 2010. I don't agree with John O Farrell that the media coverage of his book cost votes, I'm worried Labour are two years shy of a general election without any obvious policies. By 1995 Blair and Brown were setting out major constitutional reforms, the scrapping of the hereditary peers, minimum wage etc vote winning narratives based on a vision of the future not on a critique about the then failings of Ken Clarke. True Major's government was imploding at the time but isn't the Coalition now? The Coalition has effectively ceased to exist and certainly won't bring forward any new major policies. I regret to say it but Ed Balls needs to stand aside, I voted for him but just being 'anti-cuts' and pro-growth is meaningless without a big picture. Labour wont win in 2015 just by staying schtumm and not being the Tories, it has to set out a bold vision of positive change derived in part from the facts in the 2011 census of what being British is now and not trying to out-racist UKIP
8:57 pm, March 02, 2013
You are wrong, from my recollection.
Labour then didn't set out its "draft manifesto" until mid-96. And plenty of people attacked them for "having no policies" then, too.
And over-analysing the Eastleigh result is utterly absurd, and is sadly all too typical of the tendency of so many lefties to wallow in pessimism and depression.
Polls when the byelection was called showed Labour support at about 20% - but lots of them voted LibDem (to stop the Tories) or in some cases UKIP (as a one off protest)
That is the reality. Miliband could have set out a complete platform for government down to the last detail, and it would have made b***er all difference last Thursday.
End of.
12:41 am, March 04, 2013
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