Analysis of by-election results from yesterday and other thoughts

Readers, the result of yesterday's by-election in Torbay which had a Green candidate was as follows (there was another in Aberdeenshire but no Green candidate stood):

Torbay UA, Clifton-with-Maidenway: Liberal Democrats 1069 (69.2%, +39.3%), Conservative 234 (14.8%, -13.7%), UKIP 158 (10.0%, -9.7%), Labour 53 (3.3%, -9.0%), Green 43 (2.7%, -6.8%).

It was a truly thundering comeback for Adrian Sanders, the newly elected Liberal Democrat councillor who just six months ago in the 2015 general election lost his Torbay parliamentary seat to the Conservatives having previously held it for 18 years (alongside so many of his colleagues that day). We were quite heavily squeezed by this comeback of his, and as it turns out every other party standing was, even the second placed Conservatives who almost took one of the seats in Torbay's last round of council elections. Conversely, on the same day in the rural Aberdeenshire ward of Huntly, Strathbogie and Howe of Alford, the Conservatives won a council seat from the Liberal Democrats in a rare double by-election with the SNP holding the other, despite the Liberal Democrats still retaining some strength in rural Aberdeenshire.

I am also pleased to hear hat my fellow Greens in Oldham will be standing Simeon Hart in the Oldham West & Royton by-election, who fought this seat at the last general election as well. Please donate to our crowdfunding effort via this link so we can spread the Green message across as much of the constituency as possible: http://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/green-party-oldham-west-and-royton/

Alan.


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