Sean Fear has posted yesterdays council b-elections on PoliticalBetting.com. Rather encouraging for the Conservatives I'd say...
Chichester DC - Tangmere: C 278, Lib Dem 275, BNP 41, Ukip 22, Lab 14. Con gain from Lib Dem. This result gives the Conservatives control of every local authority in West Sussex, for the first time ever.
East Ayrshire SUA - Altonhill, Hillhead and Longpark: SNP 715, Lab 296, C 178, Scottish Socialist Party 23. SNP hold. This is a strong performance from the SNP.
Hambleton DC - Thirsk: C 700, Lib Dem 286, Lab 161. Con Hold, with a huge swing.
South Kesteven DC - Truesdale: C 416, Lib Dem 232, Ind 171, 166. Con gain from Independent, although none of the main parties contested this seat last time.
West Lindsey DC - Lea: Lib Dem 621, C 391. Lib Dem gain from Independent The Liberal Democrats have now taken control of this authority
Wyre BC - Park: C 560, Lab 456 Con gain from Lab. This was a truly terrible result for Labour in what was a very safe seat.
I'm amazed the Conservatives didn't already control all of West Sussex, anyway...!
ReplyDeleteWorthing being the only blip, at least until the furore broke about the Lib Dems' "Goldilocks" chief executive...
Iain
ReplyDeleteYes it is good news for the Consevatives but it's only pendulum swinging. Assuming that national issues outweighed local ones (a big assumption I know but I'll make it anyway) this is good news but not great news. This government has been shown to be serially incompetent and seriously corrupt: and yet and yet according to the polls they still have considerable support in the country as a whole and a seemingly unassailable lead in the North. Why should this be?
Could it be connected with the Conservative abandonment of principle and the dash to blairite tactics of spin and crazed "modernisation" at any cost? Maybe the electorate would warm (at last) to a party which adopts policies based on a coherent non-statist philosophy (not ideology). Until then, what seems to be good news for the Tory party might not be good news for the country.
I'm shocked there's that many Labour voters in Thirsk, regardless of any 'massive swing' to the Tories aside.
ReplyDeleteI am far more excited by the Scotish result- the Conservatives did not even bother to contest that council election last time out and got a better percentage result than the Scottish national attainment last time round...this follows on winning a safe SNP seat in Lanarkshire the week before with 50 % of the vote on a huge 50 % turn-out.
ReplyDeleteThe result in East Ayrshire/Kilmarnock might have been even better if it weren't for the ex-councilor's widow having stood for the SNP.
ReplyDeleteHaving canvassed the area many people on the door were pretty anti-SNP & -Labour. Disillusionment is growing with the Scottish parliament.