Lib Dems make gains in two council by-elections
In addition to the two Parliamentary by-elections, there are four council by-elections and one rescheduled three-member ward from May, deferred due to the death of an independent candidate. Across those seven seats, there were five Liberal Democrat candidates.
First in, a great Lib Dem gain and let’s hope it’s an omen…
Congratulations to new candidate Mark Williams, who takes over from an independent.
Next up, a Labour gain from Conservatives:
And a second Lib Dem gain from the Conservatives:
That gain is in South West Surrey, currently held by one Jeremy Hunt, and that was covered his own constituency office.
Elsewhere:
And in the deferred election:
For what all this means for the running total of council by-election results since the last May elections, see my council by-elections scorecard here.
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. But this week my eye was caught by…
Understanding the opinion polls
For understanding what is happening in politics, by-elections have the advantage of being real votes in real ballot boxes. But the opinion polls have the advantage of trying to be a representative sample of voters, not just those in the places that happen to have by-elections. To understand the polls properly – and what they do and don’t really tell us – see my book, Polling UnPacked: The History, Uses and Abuses of Political Opinion Polls.
Get by-election results by email
If you sign up for my daily email with the latest pieces from this site, you’ll also get included as a little bonus the full set of council by-election results each week:
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Great to see that the win by three LibDems in the New Maldon Village ward of the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames yesterday (Thu 23) cemented a 91.7% outcome for the LibDem Group on this London outer zone Council. 44 from 48 (3 Tories and a lone Independent) … a powerful reminder that leadership and good admin over four years brings recognition.