Last night's council by-elections:
Highgate Ward, LB Haringey. Lib Dem hold. LD 1339 (50.9%, +12.6%), Con 725 (27.5%, -1.5%), Lab 241 (9.2%, -1.3%), Ind 190 (7.2%, -4.4%), Green 138 (5.2%, -5.3%). Similar LD squeeze on the Green vote as in nearby Camden ward of Fortune Green a couple of weeks ago.
Rugby Lawford/New Bilton Division, Warwickshire County Council. Lab hold by 1 vote after two recounts! Lab 724 (33.8%, -7.9%), Con Con 723 (33.7%, +4.7%), BNP 313 (14.6%, +14.6%), LD 235 (11.0%, -3.3%), Green 148 (6.9%, +6.9%). An independent took 15% when the seat was last contested in 2005.
Cambuslang East Ward, S Lanarkshire. Lab gain from SNP. First round result: Lab 725, 28% (-22%), SNP 609, 23% (unchanged), LD 580, 22% (+8%), Con 80, 3% (-6%), Other 600 23% (+20%) (Quirk of STV is that if a minority councillor in a ward dies or resigns, the largest party in the multi-member ward usually picks up the seat - this ward was 2 Lab, 1 SNP last year).
Not very good votes for Labour, particularly Haringey.
ReplyDeleteI don't think that local election results are much of a pointer to the national scene but its looking more and more like hung parliament time - which means it may be down to driving a hard bargain from the smaller parties.
There is a pattern that has emerged across all four of the London by-election so far this year - good results for the Liberal Democrats (good news too for Brian Paddick's campaign), poor for Labour and bad for the Tories, with no sign of a build up of support in the run to Boris's Mayor bid in May.
ReplyDeleteMore details in my posting on Liberal Democrat Voice.
Labour won the South Lanarkshire one.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.southlanarkshire.gov.uk/portal/page/portal/EXTERNAL_WEBSITE_DEVELOPMENT/SLC_ONLINE_HOME/HOME_NEWS_FULL_STORY?content_id=14827
Labour has won the South Lanarkshire byelection. No stage by stage info yet
ReplyDeleteWith the Haringey result it's looking good for a Livingstone thumping in May
ReplyDeleteLocal election results do not have much reflection on general elections. Labour have lost an enormous amount of support and the figures clearly show this.
ReplyDeleteLib Dems are now Shambolic under Clegg and their stance on Europe is just as bad as Labour. To promise a referendum and then go back on this promise is undemocratic especially when you consider both Lab and Lib fought an election on this.
The argument that the electorate do not have the inteligence to understand the treaty I find very offensive. Having listened to Milliband last night he appeared to be political snob, is he forgetting he is a public servant.
For any of you who watch BBC question time, you will realise people are not happy about being denied a vote on the treaty. Milliband last night failed to convice the audience and was made to look like a snob.
And the latest stance on the I.D card is simply shocking, talk about bringing the scheme in via the back door. Anyone with airport clearance is already subject to special branch clearance and in somecases MI6. For example I have special branch clearance, SIS clearance, enhanced disclosures etc etc and you would expect this because of my work history. My number plates on my car are still blanked and my data is only available to senior members of the security services and the police. This is to stop nutters taking revenge on my family, so please tell me what use are ID cards.
Slacker: Highgate ward is the only ward in Haringey that was never Labour even when 54 of 57 councillors were. It is also the only seat in Haringey that Tories have had any chance of winning after Labour wiped them out in Tottenham and the Lib Dems wiped them out in Hornsey & Wood Green, and it is generally perceived Lib Dem-Tory marginal (perhaps less marginal after the last two results, though). Trying to draw lessons about recent trends in Labour support from a by-election in that seat makes about as much sense as drawing the same lessons from Democratic primary results.
ReplyDeleteAndrea
ReplyDeleteTake a look at the figures.
Labour "gain" south lanarkshire but the vote is down by 22 per cent - by far the worst result of the night.
Labour sucks bottom
ReplyDeleteLabour will win the next general election, no mistake about it. Plus the one after that, and the one after that...
ReplyDeleteThe Labour local vote is falling away, Luke
ReplyDelete