Council by-elections
Three by-elections last night. Good results for Labour in Lewisham and Harwich on the Essex coast, disappointing failure to field a candidate in Fenland.
Parson Drove and Wisbech St Mary, Fenland DC. Con hold. Con 384 (44.1%, -3), LD 240
(27.6%, -8.5), UKIP 214 (24.6%, +24.6), Eng Dem 33 (3.8%, +3.8). Swing of 2.8%
from LD to Con since 2011.
Evelyn Ward, LB Lewisham. Lab hold. Lab 918 (54.3%, +5.4), Lewisham People
Before Profit 404 (23.9%, +16.1), LD 131 (7.7%, -8.5), UKIP 119 (7%, +7), Con
119 (7%, -5.6). Swing of 5.4% from Lab to LPBP since 2010.
Harwich Ward, Tendring DC. Lab hold. Lab 282 (34.9%, -5), Con 220 (27.2%,
-12), Community 163 (20.2%, +9.7), LD 143 (17.7%, +17.7). Swing of 3.5% from Con
to Lab since 2011.
posted by Luke Akehurst at 8:34 am
4 Comments:
Your comment re Fenland suggests you subscribe to the "candidate in every seat" mantra which, I think, is almost as damaging as the "n contacts = m votes" one that has gripped party managers.
Both these, doubtless well-intentioned, mantras lead to misdirection of precious resources.
A decade or so ago the Tories started to target their resources more effectively than they had previously. For example, in the 2005 election they bused activists from safe and unwinnable seats into marginals. They also targeted marginals with high-quality literature and not only at election time.
Labour, meanwhile, seems to have been moving rather in the opposite direction. Initiatives such as "third place first" and a "candidate in every seat" divert regional managements' scare resources away from the marginals that should be their sole focus.
10:29 am, March 29, 2013
You forgot Dothill Wellington Town Council last night:
UKIP 303,
Lab 151
Con 108
Lib Dem 90
12:46 pm, March 29, 2013
Once again, Labour do well in cities while UKIP make huge gains in the countryside. Tories seem to be heading for a disaster in May, though I don't expect Labour to do well as the counties contain very few seats Labour have ever won - and no cities, of course. But UKIP could be celebrating, along with the LDs holding on better than the national opinion polls suggest.
5:53 pm, April 07, 2013
Having a candidate in every seat doesn't divert any resources - all you need is someone to stand, not to put any money in. I can understand how in rural areas they wouldn't have enough members to field a full slate of candidates for a local election, but in a council by-election, I don't really see why the local chair or secretary of the party can't just put his/her name forward as a candidate.
7:49 pm, April 08, 2013
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