Lib Dems successfully defend seat in Wiltshire
Two principal authority council by-elections this week, and both with Liberal Democrat candidates.
Congratulations to new councillor Nick Dye and the team particularly as this was the first election for the newly formed local party following boundary changes.
Thank you to Cormac Evans for being the Liberal Democrat candidate.
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 week, this by-election at the town/parish/community council level did catch my eye:
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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Well done for any town council needing a by-election, when so many have vacancies.!
The lack of interest is brought about by national party bickering and the zero reputation of serving politicians. Diminishing turnouts always benefit the Tories, so we really need to work on generating more interest in serving our community, and the ethic of working together with others to make it ‘a better place to live and work’