Good second place as Lib Dems return to ballot paper in Eastfield
An unusual by-election this week, caused by a councillor leaving Labour and then resigning to stand again as a left-wing independent candidate.
Although the ward is an area of Lib Dem success over a decade ago, it’s only once been fought before on the current boundaries, when there was no Lib Dem. But this time there was – and the Liberal Democrats moved straight into second place:
Congratulations to Erica Willett and the team on a very promising result for returning to the party’s old successes in the area.
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 as it’s only those for which comprehensive results are available.
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.
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“Tony Randerson quit the Labour party and the council in April in opposition to Sir Keir Starmer’s leadership, and he is seeking re-election in this by-election as a left-wing independent candidate.” That would be Labour then!