Results of by-elections from 06/10/16

Readers, the results from this week's local by-elections were as follows:

Basingstoke & Deane BC, Basing: Conservative 1051 (67.5%, +3.7%), Liberal Democrats 323 (20.7%, +8.3%), Labour 184 (11.8%, -0.1%). All changes are since May 2016.

Bolton MBC, Rumworth: Lab 2215 (76.9%, +4.6%), UKIP 251 (9.1%, -0.9%), Con 167 (6.0%, -4.4%), Green 126 (4.6%, -0.5%), Lib Dem 96 (3.5%, +1.2%). All changes are since May 2016.

Caerphilly UA, Gilfach: Lab 254 (57.9%, -28.0%), Plaid Cymru 150 (34.2%, +20.0%), UKIP 28 (6.4%), Green 7 (1.6%).

Caerphilly UA, Risca East: Lab 400 (58.9%, +2.9%), Plaid Cymru 120 (17.7%, +0.4%), UKIP 117 (17.2%), Lib Dem 42 (6.2%).

East Devon, Exmouth Brixington: Con 425 (41.1%, +5.5%), East Devon Independent Alliance 324 (31.3%, +2.5%), Lib Dem 286 (27.8%,+8.4%)

Glasgow UA, Garscadden/Scotstounhill (1st preferences): SNP 2135 (42.6%, +15.6%), Lab 1944 (38.8%, -22.8%), Con 510 (10.2%, +7.6%), Green 242 (4.8%, +2.1%), Lib Dem 97 (1.9%, +0.8%), UKIP 83 (1.7%,+0.8%). SNP elected at stage 3; SNP gain from Labour.

Haringey LBC, St Ann's: Lab 1177 (63.7%,+11.7%), Green 323 (17.5%, -1.7%), Lib Dem 189 (10.2%, +3.0%), Con 106 (5.7%, -0.9%), UKIP 54 (2.9%, -3.9%).

Hartlepool UA, Headland & Harbour: UKIP 496 (49.2%, +3.4%), Labour 255 (25.3%, -20.0%), Putting Hartlepool First 155 (15.4%), Con 41 (4.1%, -4.6%), Patients Not Profits 36 (3.6%), Independent B 26 (2.6%). UKIP gain from Labour.

Highland UA, Culloden & Ardersier (1st preferences): SNP 753 (27.2%, -0.1%), Lib Dem 467 (16.7%, +2.9%), Con 439 (15.9%, +11.4%), Independent R 315 (11.4%), Independent MacP 274 (9.9%), Green 180 (6.5%, +1.9%), Lab 165 (5.9%, -8.0%), Independent McG 158 (5.7%, +0.9%), Independent L 23 (0.8%). Lib Dem elected at stage 8; Lib Dem gain from Labour.

Recently, UKIP leader Diane James resigned after 18 days in that post, citing not really wanting the position and claiming in Latin that she was under duress on her nomination form. This had little effect on UKIP in the end, as their easy gain in Headland & Harbour and their fair results elsewhere (except in Haringey, although there as in the majority of London they have little appeal at all anyway) proved.

The strong Labour surge in St Ann's is not a swing from the Greens to Labour-it mainly occurred because the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition did not stand in that ward's by-election as they did in 2014, where they achieved one of their best local results. Despite slipping back slightly we crucially retained second place; being the main challenger (and a challenger who actually offers something different) is increasingly important locally and nationally with local areas of Britain becoming more politically polarised, as another SNP gain in what was traditionally a very safely Labour part of Glasgow proved. This point was also reinforced in Plaid Cymru's 24% swing against Labour in the former mining village of Gilfach, following on from excellent PC swings against Labour in rural Welsh constituencies; the May 2016 Welsh Assembly election is the closest they have come so far to winning Caerphilly from Labour. Back in England, the East Devon Alliance was able to make no headway against the Conservatives in that Exmouth by-election, apart from continuing to remain the main challengers.





Comments

  1. Robert Price7 October 2016 at 23:42

    In Hartlepool it's not Patients Not Profits which got 3.6% that's the slogan of the National Health Action Party (NHAP). Sadly that means me losing out to a local landlord anf Kipper who did nothing last time he was a Councillor.

    ReplyDelete

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