Pre-Christmas by-election sees 18% swing from Tories to Lib Dems in Aylesbury Vale

With turnout in the Grendon Underwood & Brill by election at 29% despite it being held on the eve of Christmas Eve, there was rather more public participation that you might have expected in a by-election which saw the Lib Dems score an 18% swing from the Conservatives.

This result in Aylesbury Vale is another example of both the strength and the limitations of the Lib Dem recovery in council by-elections. The party isn’t withering away in them, and is frequently moving back to be well ahead of Ukip and the Greens. But as with other examples of this trends I’ve covered, this was a very strong second for the Liberal Democrats, rather than a win. Steps in the right direction. More steps to go in 2016. (Hopefully in this direction).