UK local by-elections thread

[Chancellor of the Duchy of Little Lever and Darcy Lever]

By-election on 30 November 2010:

CILIAU AERON, Ceredigion; a rare Tuesday poll caused by the disqualification of a Plaid Cymru councillor who was found by a tribunal to have misused his position in relation to planning applications.  Ciliau Aeron is a village four miles southeast of Aberaeron on the road to Lampeter; the ward also includes the villages of Cilcennin to the east and Llwyncelyn and Foss-y-ffin to the west and the National Trust estate at Llanerchaeron.  Plaid gained the ward from an Independent in 2008 polling 67% of the vote; the Lib Dem candidate who finished second with 19% was none other than Harry Hayfield of this parish.  The by-election sees Plaid opposed by a new Lib Dem candidate and the Conservatives (who very rarely stand in this part of the world).

By-elections on 2 December 2010:

DUNCHURCH AND KNIGHTLOW, Rugby, Warks; caused by the resignation of a Conservative councillor.  This is a large rural ward stretching east from the village of Dunchurch, south of Rugby, along the A45 road as far as the Fosse Way, and south as far as Princethorpe and Marton.  There is no village called Knightlow; rather Knightlow was one of Warwickshire's five ancient hundreds, covering much of eastern Warwickshire with its centre at the village of Stretton-on-Dunsmore, part of this ward.  Politically this ward is a Conservative/Lib Dem marginal which from 2002 until 2008 was split 2 Conservative and 1 Lib Dem, the Lib Dem being the long-serving Ron Ravenhall.  In a double-vacancy election in 2008 the Lib Dems gained the by-election seat from the Conservatives, their candidate being Ron's wife Sally.  Ron died shortly before this May's election, at which the Tories gained his old seat by 241 votes.  As in May, Labour and the Greens will field candidates as well.

HAYDOCK, St Helens, Lancashire Merseyside; caused by the death of Labour councillor Jim Caunce who was the longest-serving councillor in the country, having served continuously on St Helens MBC and before then on Haydock Urban District Council since 1951.  Located eight miles north of Warrington at the junction of the M6 and the East Lancs Road, Haydock is a former coal-mining town, today best known for Haydock Park Racecourse.  Politically it's split between Labour and the Lib Dems; in 2006 the Lib Dems won with 55% to 39%, increasing their lead to 60%-33% in 2007; Caunce was re-elected in 2008 with 45% to 35% for the Lib Dems and last May Labour (52%) gained a seat from the Lib Dems (37%) to make the ward Lab 2 LD 1.  The by-election candidates are the three main parties plus the BNP.

POOLE TOWN, Poole, Dorset; caused by the death of the Conservative leader of the council.  As the name suggests, this ward is based on the central business district.  I know nothing about Poole, so I'll just say that this is a strong Conservative ward, the Tories polling 47% in 2007 to 18% for the Lib Dems, 14% for UKIP and 13% for Labour.  All four of these parties will contest the by-election plus the BNP and an outfit called "Poole People".

[minionofmidas]

Serving on the council for 59 years? Lol. According to a google search he was 92 when he died.

[Phony Moderate]

DUNCHURCH AND KNIGHTLOW, Rugby, Warks; caused by the resignation of a Conservative councillor.  This is a large rural ward stretching east from the village of Dunchurch, south of Rugby, along the A45 road as far as the Fosse Way, and south as far as Princethorpe and Marton.  There is no village called Knightlow; rather Knightlow was one of Warwickshire's five ancient hundreds, covering much of eastern Warwickshire with its centre at the village of Stretton-on-Dunsmore, part of this ward.  Politically this ward is a Conservative/Lib Dem marginal which from 2002 until 2008 was split 2 Conservative and 1 Lib Dem, the Lib Dem being the long-serving Ron Ravenhall.  In a double-vacancy election in 2008 the Lib Dems gained the by-election seat from the Conservatives, their candidate being Ron's wife Sally.  Ron died shortly before this May's election, at which the Tories gained his old seat by 241 votes.  As in May, Labour and the Greens will field candidates as well.

Which is in my backyard, ftr.

[Harry Hayfield]

By-election on 30 November 2010:

CILIAU AERON, Ceredigion; a rare Tuesday poll caused by the disqualification of a Plaid Cymru councillor who was found by a tribunal to have misused his position in relation to planning applications.  Ciliau Aeron is a village four miles southeast of Aberaeron on the road to Lampeter; the ward also includes the villages of Cilcennin to the east and Llwyncelyn and Foss-y-ffin to the west and the National Trust estate at Llanerchaeron.  Plaid gained the ward from an Independent in 2008 polling 67% of the vote; the Lib Dem candidate who finished second with 19% was none other than Harry Hayfield of this parish.  The by-election sees Plaid opposed by a new Lib Dem candidate and the Conservatives (who very rarely stand in this part of the world).

(coughs harshly) Ffos y ffin, my dear sir!. The actual area of the ward can be described as Henfynyw, Ffos y ffin, Llwyncelyn, Ciliau Aeron and Cilcennin. The Independent stood down in 2008 after 21 years service on the council

[Phony Moderate]

Dunchurch & Knightlow ward, Rugby
Con - 49% (+1)
LD - 41% (no change)
Lab - 9% (no change)
Green - 1% (-1)
Con hold

Haydock ward, St Helens
Lab - 63% (+17)
LD - 27% (-9)
Con - 6% (-4)
BNP - 4% (-5)
Lab hold

Ciliau Aeron ward, Ceredigion (Held on Tuesday)
Plaid Cymru - 56% (-11)
LD - 38% (+19)
Con - 7% (+7)
Plaid Cymru hold

[MaxQue]

Poole Town ward, Poole,
Poole People - 33%
Con - 31% (-16)
LD - 15% (-3)
Lab - 14% (+1)
UKIP - 4% (-10)
BNP - 2%
Poole People gain on Conservative

Apparently, Poople People was created last October. They say they are not "left or right" and they seem to focus on "stopping over-development", "protecting Poole heritage" and complaining about a bridge project.

[Hash]

I like how it rhymes with 'cool people'.

[minionofmidas]

Dunchurch & Knightlow ward, Rugby
Con - 49% (+1)
LD - 41% (no change)
Lab - 9% (no change)
Green - 1% (-1)
Con hold

Lol.

[You kip if you want to...]

I like how it rhymes with 'cool people'.

Ironically, they're probably the opposite...

[MaxQue]

I like how it rhymes with 'cool people'.

Ironically, they're probably the opposite...

I don't see how. Over-development and urban sprawl are horrors which should be limited the most possible.

[Chancellor of the Duchy of Little Lever and Darcy Lever]

Only two by-elections on 9th December:

BEWSEY AND WHITECROSS, Warrington, Lancs Ches; caused by the resignation of a Lib Dem councillor for work reasons.  Straddling both sides of the River Mersey (although the part south of the river is uninhabited) this ward contains Warrington town centre and runs north along the West Coast Main Line as far as Dallam, home to a major Royal Mail rail terminal.  Most of the population of the ward lives north-west of the town centre in Bewsey, which is a working-class area with some Asian population.  Politically this was a consistent Labour seat until 2007 when it was gained by the Liberal Democrats with a large majority (57.6-36.7); the Lib Dems made a second gain in 2008 (44.1-38.9) but in May Labour held comfortably (53.0-31.7) on the general election turnout. 

FAREHAM WEST, Fareham, Hants; caused by the resignation of a Conservative councillor due to ill-health.  This is a middle-class residential ward in the market town of Fareham, between Portsmouth and Southampton.  This isn't a place I know anything about, so (despite what happened in Poole last week ) I'll just note that is a strong Tory ward; in May the Conservatives had 62% here to 21% for their nearest rivals, the Lib Dems.  Labour, UKIP and the Greens will also fight the by-election.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Two very interesting results:

Warrington Bewsey & Whitecross: Lab 71.1, LDem 15.2, Con 8.1, Green 3.2, Ind 2.3

Fareham West - LDem 49.8, Con 36.7, Lab 6.7, UKIP 5.0, Green 1.9

[minionofmidas]

A big Labour win in Bewsey was always exceedingly likely - though perhaps not quite this big.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Yes, I was expecting around 60% or so. I suspect that we're going to see a lot of laughably high percentages in working class wards next year.

Anyway, Fareham explained: http://don-paskini.blogspot.com/2010/12/how-lib-dems-can-still-win-elections-in.html

[Chancellor of the Duchy of Little Lever and Darcy Lever]

By-elections on 16th December:

ALVECHURCH, Worcestershire County Council, and MARLBROOK, Bromsgrove, Worcs; caused by the resignation of the Conservative leader of the County Council (who sat on both councils) following allegations of inappropriate sexual behaviour to female staff members.  The two wards cover different areas. 

Alvechurch county division is southern Birmingham rural commuterland and borders Kings Norton ward in Brum.  Alvechurch itself has a railway station on the Cross City line, and the division also includes the village and station (on the branch line to Stratford-on-Avon) of Wythall.  Confusingly, Wythall is not in the county division named after it.  The 2009 county result here was a bit of a mess, with the Tories polling 41% to 22% for UKIP, 13% for the Lib Dems, 9% for Labour, 8% for the Greens and 7% for the BNP.  There's not many conclusions you can draw from that.  The by-election is contested by the three main parties, UKIP and a pair of independents.

Marlbrook ward, on the other hand, is a middle-class village north of Bromsgrove in the Lickey Hills.  I suspect the village has grown up fairly recently - it doesn't appear on pre-war maps and is located at the junction of three different parishes.  In 2007 it voted 63% Conservative in a straight fight with Labour, who only put up one candidate in this two-seat ward.  This time the Lib Dems, the Greens, UKIP and a pair of independents have thrown their hats into the ring.

DOVER TOWN, Kent County Council, and LYDDEN AND TEMPLE EWELL, Dover, Kent; caused by the death of a Conservative councillor who sat on both councils.  Again, the two wards cover different areas.

Dover Town county division covers what it says on the tin, being coterminous with the old Dover Municipal Borough and the current Dover parish.  Dover is, of course, famous for its cliffs and its port; this is the busiest passenger port in the world and the main port of entry from the Continent; almost anybody who is English has passed through Dover at some point on the way to Europe.  The port and the employment it creates mean that the town is Labour in an even year, and Labour won quite comfortably in 2005 and in a September 2007 by-election during the Brown bounce.  In 2009 the Labour vote slumped to 29% and the Conservatives won with 44% thanks to an evenly divided Lab/LD opposition.  The by-election sees a UKIP candidate as well.

Lydden and Temple Ewell, by contrast, are a pair of villages just north-west of Dover on the old road to London.  Temple Ewell is now part of the Dover built-up area and appears to be socially mixed, while Lydden is more rural.  In 2007 the Conservatives polled 68% here to 23% for Labour and 10% for UKIP; all three of those parties will contest the by-election.

SHERWOOD, Tunbridge Wells, Kent; caused by the death of a Conservative councillor.  Tunbridge Wells has a reputation as the home of retired Army colonels who write outraged letters to the Daily Telegraph, but this ward has a rather young population compared to the average for the district.  It covers a mostly residential area in the north-eastern corner of the town.  The ward consistently returns Conservative councillors; in May the Conservatives polled 48% to 26% for the Lib Dems, 16% for Labour and 9% for UKIP.  The English Democrats are also standing in the by-election.

SPITALFIELDS AND BANGLATOWN, Tower Hamlets, London; caused by ex-Labour councillor Lutfur Rahman being elected Mayor of Tower Hamlets.  On the edge of the City of London, Spitalfields has been a centre for immigration for centuries, starting in the late seventeenth century when Huguenot silk weavers set up here; they were followed by Irish weavers in the eighteenth century, Jewish refugees in the nineteenth century, and Bangladeshi immigrants in the twentieth century who made Brick Lane (which runs north to south through the centre of the ward) famous for its curry houses.  In the 2001 census this ward was 70% non-white and 58% of the population were recorded as Bangladeshi.  The area is also known for the number of famous artists living there.  Labour lead in the area at local level, but not by much from Respect; the result in May was Lab 34% Respect 22% LD 17% Grn 12% C 12% with Labour gaining a seat from Respect.

[Scrooge]

A big Labour win in Bewsey was always exceedingly likely - though perhaps not quite this big.

Labour did run a very effective campaign - and I'm not just saying that because I was involved personally! We identified our core vote and by and large got it out on the day. I have to say though that the turnout was very low (17%) - not that a low turnout assists Labour in this sort of ward. The overall response from voters was "a plague on all your houses". Lib Dems may have stayed at home in droves for various reasons - the circumstances of the election, the council being a Conservative-Lib Dem coaltion,  tuition fees - though the last of these didn't harm them in the other byelection in Fareham, though of course that was a Tory/Lib Dem rather than Lib Dem/Labour ward....

[minionofmidas]

Yeah. If turnout drops that low, all bets are off as to who benefits - it becomes a question of who voted, exactly. "Low turnout benefitting the bourgeois and elderly choice" is a phenomenon that belongs to the 50-90 part of the range of possible turnouts.

Welcome to the Forum!

[Scrooge]

Thank you. I'd always thought I was the only person in the world interested in elections!

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Labour have seized control of Wolverhampton City Council in the past hour. They have had exactly half the seats since gaining a seat off the Tories a while back.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Spitalfields & Banglatown: RUC 45.4, Labour 37.7, Con 9.2, Green 3.5, LDem 2.2, Ind 1.9
Dover Town: Labour 43.7, Con 39.5, UKIP 11.8, LDem 5.0
Lydden & Temple Ewell: Con 62.2, Labour 23.4, UKIP 14.3
Marlbrook: Con 35.0, Labour 29.1, Ind 17.0, UKIP 8.4, LDem 8.3, Green 1.7, Ind 0.5

Not seen results for elsewhere.

[Serenity Now]

Lol, Respect won with 666 votes. Ammunition for their oppenents(?)

[minionofmidas]

Not seen results for elsewhere.

Alvechurch: Con 52.6, Labour 15.6, i 13.0, LD 6.9, i 6.5, UKIP 5.4

Sherwood: Con 47.6, LD 19.6, Labour 14.0, UKIP 10.4, ED 8.5

[Chancellor of the Duchy of Little Lever and Darcy Lever]

Last two by-elections of the year this week.

Tuesday 21st December: BROMHAM, ROWDE AND POTTERNE, Wiltshire; caused by the resignation of a Conservative councillor who is now serving a ten-month prison sentence for stealing nearly £50,000 from a pension fund.  This ward covers a series of villages to the north-west and south-west of the town of Devizes.  The only previous election from the ward was in 2009 on European election day, and this meant that, while the Tories won easily with 43%, UKIP managed to finish in second place four votes ahead of the Lib Dems.  Predecessor county and district council seats were Conservative with the Lib Dems second except for Potterne, which was held by an independent on the now-abolished Kennet district council.  Surprisingly UKIP are not contesting the by-election, which is a C/LD/Lab/Ind fight.

Thursday 23rd December: SAWBRIDGEWORTH, East Herts; caused by the resignation of an Independent councillor.  This is a middle-class commuter town on the eastern border of Hertfordshire between Harlow and Bishop's Stortford, located on the West Anglia main line 27 miles from Liverpool Street station.  In 2007 the ward elected two Conservative councillors with the independent ex-councillor gaining the third seat from the Conservatives.  The by-election is fought by a new Independent and the three main parties.

The first by-election of 2011 will be in Park ward, Windsor on 6th January.

[You kip if you want to...]

Last two by-elections of the year this week.

Tuesday 21st December: BROMHAM, ROWDE AND POTTERNE, Wiltshire; caused by the resignation of a Conservative councillor who is now serving a ten-month prison sentence for stealing nearly £50,000 from a pension fund.  This ward covers a series of villages to the north-west and south-west of the town of Devizes.  The only previous election from the ward was in 2009 on European election day, and this meant that, while the Tories won easily with 43%, UKIP managed to finish in second place four votes ahead of the Lib Dems.  Predecessor county and district council seats were Conservative with the Lib Dems second except for Potterne, which was held by an independent on the now-abolished Kennet district council.  Surprisingly UKIP are not contesting the by-election, which is a C/LD/Lab/Ind fight.

Thursday 23rd December: SAWBRIDGEWORTH, East Herts; caused by the resignation of an Independent councillor.  This is a middle-class commuter town on the eastern border of Hertfordshire between Harlow and Bishop's Stortford, located on the West Anglia main line 27 miles from Liverpool Street station.  In 2007 the ward elected two Conservative councillors with the independent ex-councillor gaining the third seat from the Conservatives.  The by-election is fought by a new Independent and the three main parties.

The first by-election of 2011 will be in Park ward, Windsor on 6th January.

People will totally be bothered to vote in a local by-election, 2 days before Christmas.

[Chancellor of the Duchy of Little Lever and Darcy Lever]

Bromham, Rowde and Potterne was a Tory hold: C 53.5 LD 34.2 Lab 7.1 Ind 5.2.
Sawbridgeworth was an Independent hold: Ind 45.1 C 35.1 Lab 10.1 LD 9.7.  Oh, and turnout was 14.9%.