Alan's Green Thoughts

  Normally, I would have posted my Christmas message for the year two days earlier and taken a break until the New Year. But because a local by-election occurred on 23 December, I could not do so. The results of British local by-elections from 16 December and 23 December 2021 were as follows: (16/12/21): Argyll & Bute UA, Lomond North (1st preference votes): Conservative 742 (40.7%, +11.3%), SNP 459 (25.2%, +5.0%), Independent (Irvine) 418 (22.9%), Independent (Macintyre) 204 (11.2%, +0.5%). Conservative hold at stage 3. [Labour, Liberal Democrats and other Independents did not stand] Ashford DC, Highfield: Green 191 (40.0%, +21.2%), Conservative 163 (34.1%, -7.0%), Ashford Independent 101 (21.1%, -7.4%), Labour 23 (4.8%). Green gain from Conservative. [Liberal Democrats did not stand] Bridgend UA, Caerau: Independent (Davies) 515 (48.8%), Labour 441 (41.8%, -7.1%), Plaid Cymru 82 (7.1%), Conservative 18 (1.7%). Independent gain from Labour. [Other Independents did not stand] Horsh

  Readers, the result of the North Shropshire by-election, caused by the resignation of Owen Paterson during the sleaze/second jobs scandal, was as follows: Suzie Akers-Smith, Independent, 95 (0.3%) Andrea Allen, UKIP, 378 (1.0%) Boris Been-Bunged, Rejoin EU, 58 (0.2%) Martin Daubney, Reclaim Party, 375 (1.0%) Russell Dean, Party Party, 19 (0.0%) James Elliot, Heritage Party, 79 (0.2%) Alan "Howling Laud" Hope, OMRLP, 118 (0.3%) Earl Jesse, Freedom Alliance, 57 (0.2%) Yolande Kenward, 3 (0.0%) Duncan Kerr, Green Party, 1,738 (4.6%, +1.4%) Helen Morgan, Liberal Democrats, 17,957 (47.2%, +37.2%) Neil Shastri-Hurst, Conservative, 12,032 (31.6%, -31.1%) Kirsty Walmsley, Reform UK, 1,427 (3.8%) Ben Wood, Labour, 3,686 (9.7%, -12.4%) Liberal Democrat GAIN from Conservative. The swing of 34.2% from Conservative to the Liberal Democrats that Helen Morgan managed is only 1.1% lower than the Liberal Democrats' record of a 35.3% swing in the Christchurch by-election of 1993, and thi

  Readers, the results of British local by-elections from the first fortnight of December 2021 were as follows: (NB: I postponed my coverage of the 2nd December local by-elections to write a feature piece on the Old Bexley & Sidcup parliamentary by-election) (2/12/21): Adur DC, Hillside: Conservative 414 (56.2%, -6.3%), Green 175 (23.7%, +17.1%), Labour 148 (20.1%, -7.7%). All changes are since May 2018. Breckland DC, Hermitage: Conservative 243 (45.0%, -26.3%), Liberal Democrats 221 (40.9%), Labour 66 (12.2%, -16.5%), Workers Party 10 (1.9%). Highland UA, Fort William & Ardamurchan (1st preference votes): SNP 905 (39.6%, +6.7%), Conservative 485 (21.2%, +8.5%), Green 328 (14.3%), Liberal Democrats 231 (10.1%, +5.5%), Independent (McKenna) 194 (8.5%), Independent (Mathieson) 88 (3.8%, -0.4%), Mark Drayton 56 (2.4%). Lancaster DC, Bare: Liberal Democrats 428 (33.1%, +24.6%), Green 301 (23.3%, +16.2%), Morecambe Bay Independents 243 (18.8%, -13.9%), Conservative 215 (16.6%, -13.2

  Readers, the votes cast in the Old Bexley & Sidcup by-election were as follows: Elaine Cheeseman, English Democrats, 271 (1.3%) Daniel Francis, Labour, 6,711 (30.9%, +7.4%) Louie French, Conservative, 11,189 (51.5%, -13.1%) Richard Hewison, Rejoin EU, 151 (0.7%) David Kurten, Heritage Party, 116 (0.5%) John Poynton, UKIP, 184 (0.8%) Simone Reynolds, Liberal Democrats, 647 (3.0%, -5.3%) Jonathan Rooks, Green Party, 830 (3.8%, +0.6%) Richard Tice, Reform UK, 1,432 (6.6%) Carol Valinejad, Christian Peoples' Alliance, 108 (0.5%, +0.0%) Mad Mike Young, OMRLP., 94 (0.4%) Conservative HOLD. This by-election was essentially a foregone conclusion, especially since there have been only four by-elections where Labour have equalled or exceeded the 20.6% swing they would have needed to win this seat, and three of those were during Sir John Major's tenure as Prime Minister, when the Conservatives lost all eight of the by-elections where they were the  defending party, and were pushed i