Council by-elections

There were four council by-elections yesterday including two Labour gains in Cumbria and a loss to an Independent in Stoke, where local politics is extremely idiosyncratic:

Seaton Ward, Allerdale DC. Lab gain from Ind. Lab 464 (40%, +3.6), UKIP 426 (36.7%, +36.7), Con 133 (11.5%, +11.5), Green 108 (9.3%, -4.9), LD 30 (2.6%, +2.6). Swing of 16.6% from Lab to UKIP since 2011.

Winton East Ward, Bournemouth UA. Con hold. Con 503 (41.8%, +14), Lab 215 (17.9%, -3.2), UKIP 212 (17.6%, +17.6), LD 191 (15.9%, -1.4), Green 48 (4%, -10.8), Ind 34 (2.8%, -5.8). Swing of 8.6% from Lab to Con since 2011.

Seaton Division, Cumbria CC. Lab gain from Ind. Lab 628 (46.8%, +14.8), UKIP 483 (36%, +10.9), Con 107 (8%, +3.2), Ind 98 (7.3%, -26.1), LD 26 (1.9%, +1.9). Swing of 2% from UKIP to Lab since May this year.

Baddeley, Milton & Norton Ward, Stoke-on-Trent UA. City Ind gain from Lab. City Ind 861 (32.3%, +32.3), Con 504 (18.9%, -3.4), Lab 444 (16.6%, -4.7), UKIP 333 (12.5%, +5.5), Ind 313 (11.7%, -2.5), BNP 79 (3%, -4.5), Green 50 (1.9%, +1.9), LD 32 (1.2%, -2.8), Ind 27 (1%, +1), TUSC 25 (0.9%, +0.9). Swing of 17.9% from Con to City Ind since 2011.

I don’t usually report parish council results but there was a noteworthy Labour gain from Conservative in Sandwich South Ward of Sandwich TC. This is in one of the more Tory components of South Thanet parliamentary constituency and plays to my theory that Labour may stand a chance in this parliamentary seat, which we held 1997-2010, because UKIP and the Tories are evenly splitting the anti-Labour vote. Sittingbourne & Sheppey has a similar 3-way dynamic.