Political

Lib Dem gain from Labour in Hull by-election

As well as the two Parliamentary by-elections, we had five principal authority council by-elections too. Four out of five had Lib Dem candidates, which is one up on the last time these wards were up.

First up, a cracking result in Hull, extending the run of electoral success that previously saw the Lib Dems take control of the council from Labour:

Rhiannon Beeson is the new councillor:

An impressive pair of successful Lib Dem defences too:

Caroline Smith-Wright is the new councillor: congratulations to her and the team.

Congratulations to new councillor Roland Richardson and the team.

Thank you to Susan Jay for being the Liberal Democrat candidate, the first time the party was on the ballot paper in this ward since 2004.

In the Parliamentary by-elections:

Thank you to Andrew Brown and Ana Gunn for being the Liberal Democrat candidates.

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. But this town council contest did catch my eye:

White Lee Ward by-election result - Hebden Royd Town Council - February 2024

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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