Political

Hat-trick of Lib Dems gains as three seats taken from Conservatives

Five of the six council by-elections this week are Conservative defences in a week when the government has been in the headlines thanks to a variety of different stories, almost all negative.

Although the sexual harassment headlines have involved other parties, other stories have been just negative about the Conservatives. Will that be reflected in the ballot box? Let’s see what the results bring and how the Lib Dem candidates (present in five of the six contests) do.

First in, a Lib Dem gain from the Conservatives on the south coast of England:

It’s been an area of Lib Dem strength in the not-so-recent past, with the party holding a county seat covering part of this ward until earlier this year. Good to see the local party bouncing back so quickly. Congratulations to Martin Smith and the team.

Next, another Lib Dem gain, this time over in Southport with former Lib Dem MP John Pugh returning to the local council in a ward that has swung back and forth between Conservative and Lib Dem in recent years:

And then, um, no Lib Dem candidate, though this is in a ward which has had no Lib Dem candidate stretching back to its creation for the 2003 local elections:

But much better news in North Devon in a marginal Lib Dem-Conservative ward where the Lib Dems missed out on one seat by just three votes last time:

Congratulations to Derrick Spear and the team.
North Devon Lib Dems Facebook post on byelection wins

Finally, in Beaconsfield:

Good to see a Lib Dem candidate in both cases, especially as other parties who have stood in these wards in the past fell by the wayside this time.

These by-election results round-ups cover principal authority by-elections. See my post The danger in celebrating parish and town council wins for your own party for the reasons to avoid straying too often into covering town, parish or community council by-elections.

2 responses to “Hat-trick of Lib Dems gains as three seats taken from Conservatives”

  1. A clutch of LibDem wins in local elections is good news, but to save the UK from BREXIT we need a much stronger shift in public opinion. Unfortunately, too many people perceive Labour as the natural anti-Tory vote. Vince would make a good PM, he’s been in government before & can put together a front bench of great experience and stature, but opinion leaders are focusing too much on his age. This is just wrong…he doesn’t need to occupy the job for long, just win the election when May folds, kick off some sane policies then hand over to Nick or someone else who will emerge from the new intake. The message isn’t getting across forcibly enough. The anti-Brexit floaters are still too concerned about “splitting the vote” to the Tory’s advantage. We have to stop TV satyrists ridiculing the LibDem alternative; attack Labour more vigerously; target the floaters, and perhaps make a deal with the Greens. This battle must be won!

    Reply

  2. The link to the last result (Braunton East ward, Braunton Parish Council in North Devon) isn’t working for me, but you can see the full result at http://www.northdevon.gov.uk/council/voting-and-elections/election-results/by-elections/parish-by-elections/

    Votes are:
    BRADFORD, Adam Liberal Democrats 546 ELECTED
    SCOTT, Simon Karl Labour Party 147
    SHERWIN, Amy Bathsheba Green Party Candidate 496
    Spoint papers 41.

    The ward has six seats. And in the last election, in 2015, there were NO LibDem candidates, and two Green, two Conservatives and two local candidates were elected.

    Reply

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