Analysis of by-elections from 21/09/17 and tribute to William Gladstone Stewart
Readers, the results of this week's local by-elections were as follows:
Chesterfield BC, Holmebrook: Liberal Democrats 510 (50.0%,+22.1%), Labour 435 (42.6%, -8.8%), Conservative 62 (6.1%, -7.4%), Chesterfield Independent 14 (1.4%). Liberal Democrat gain from Labour.
Oadby & Wigston BC, Oadby Uplands: Liberal Democrats 435 (39.0%, +3.3%), Labour 384 (34.5%, +1.1%), Conservative 295 (26.5%, -4.4%). Liberal Democrat gain from Labour.
Waveney DC, Oulton Broad: Conservative 527 (50.2%, +11.5%), Labour 357 (34.0%, +4.8%), UKIP 112 (10.7%, -12.8%), Liberal Democrats 54 (5.1%).
Another quiet week for local by-elections, but a very good one for the Liberal Democrats, and a bad one for Labour on all fronts. The Liberal Democrats controlled Chesterfield Borough Council from 2003 to 2011, but after their crushing 2011 defeat they were knocked back further by Labour. Given that they only narrowly saved their deposit in the Chesterfield constituency earlier this year (their vote share dropped to just 5.4%), this by-election victory could not have come for them at a more necessary time. Their victory in Oadby Uplands is rather more surprising despite the fact that Oadby & Wigston Borough Council has been under Liberal Democrat control since 1991 (in fact, as many as three-quarters of the council seats on that council are represented by Liberal Democrats), because the strong ethnic diversity of the ward should have increased the chances of Labour holding what was their only seat in Oadby & Wigston. However, the Lib Dems were able to squeeze the Conservative vote enough to stop Labour in their tracks, and Labour contests few of the seats in Oadby & Wigston at election time anyway.
Although many traditional seaside resort towns are trending inexorably towards Labour, in old fishing ports like Lowestoft and Grimsby the reverse is occurring. The Waveney constituency, of which the town of Lowestoft comprises the majority (and Lowestoft was the name of the constituency until 1983), was the only strictly Conservative-Labour contest where the Labour vote actually fell in 2017, by 0.9%, resulting in Peter Aldous securing a 17.5% majority for the Conservatives in a seat that is not normally safe. This trend was repeated once again in Oulton Broad with the Conservative vote share increasing by more than twice as much as the Labour vote share, despite several previous contests in that ward having been rather close.
The original host of popular game show Fifteen To One (now hosted by Sandi Toksvig), William G(ladstone) Stewart, has died at the age of 82 (84 according to some accounts). As a child, I remember his professional, no-nonsense presenting of television's toughest quiz show, which nevertheless featured so many different contestants from all walks of life and experience (and it still does thanks to its revival in 2014). He also helped produce and direct some British sitcoms such as Love Thy Neighbour and Bless This House, and carried over his uber-professional style from there. He was a great credit to high-quality British television overall, and will be missed by many.
Chesterfield BC, Holmebrook: Liberal Democrats 510 (50.0%,+22.1%), Labour 435 (42.6%, -8.8%), Conservative 62 (6.1%, -7.4%), Chesterfield Independent 14 (1.4%). Liberal Democrat gain from Labour.
Oadby & Wigston BC, Oadby Uplands: Liberal Democrats 435 (39.0%, +3.3%), Labour 384 (34.5%, +1.1%), Conservative 295 (26.5%, -4.4%). Liberal Democrat gain from Labour.
Waveney DC, Oulton Broad: Conservative 527 (50.2%, +11.5%), Labour 357 (34.0%, +4.8%), UKIP 112 (10.7%, -12.8%), Liberal Democrats 54 (5.1%).
Another quiet week for local by-elections, but a very good one for the Liberal Democrats, and a bad one for Labour on all fronts. The Liberal Democrats controlled Chesterfield Borough Council from 2003 to 2011, but after their crushing 2011 defeat they were knocked back further by Labour. Given that they only narrowly saved their deposit in the Chesterfield constituency earlier this year (their vote share dropped to just 5.4%), this by-election victory could not have come for them at a more necessary time. Their victory in Oadby Uplands is rather more surprising despite the fact that Oadby & Wigston Borough Council has been under Liberal Democrat control since 1991 (in fact, as many as three-quarters of the council seats on that council are represented by Liberal Democrats), because the strong ethnic diversity of the ward should have increased the chances of Labour holding what was their only seat in Oadby & Wigston. However, the Lib Dems were able to squeeze the Conservative vote enough to stop Labour in their tracks, and Labour contests few of the seats in Oadby & Wigston at election time anyway.
Although many traditional seaside resort towns are trending inexorably towards Labour, in old fishing ports like Lowestoft and Grimsby the reverse is occurring. The Waveney constituency, of which the town of Lowestoft comprises the majority (and Lowestoft was the name of the constituency until 1983), was the only strictly Conservative-Labour contest where the Labour vote actually fell in 2017, by 0.9%, resulting in Peter Aldous securing a 17.5% majority for the Conservatives in a seat that is not normally safe. This trend was repeated once again in Oulton Broad with the Conservative vote share increasing by more than twice as much as the Labour vote share, despite several previous contests in that ward having been rather close.
The original host of popular game show Fifteen To One (now hosted by Sandi Toksvig), William G(ladstone) Stewart, has died at the age of 82 (84 according to some accounts). As a child, I remember his professional, no-nonsense presenting of television's toughest quiz show, which nevertheless featured so many different contestants from all walks of life and experience (and it still does thanks to its revival in 2014). He also helped produce and direct some British sitcoms such as Love Thy Neighbour and Bless This House, and carried over his uber-professional style from there. He was a great credit to high-quality British television overall, and will be missed by many.
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