With nine principal council by-elections taking place on St Swithin’s day this year, we can only hope our electoral prospects don’t stay the same for the next forty days!  Of the two we were defending, we lost one, and we failed to pick up any seats elsewhere.  The Conservatives held steady, successfully defending four out of five; on Surrey Country Council (Worplesdon division); Great Marlow ward of Wycombe District; Wheatley ward on Rochford D.C.; and Pirbright in Guildford.  The one seat lost by the Tories on the 15th, Bloxwich West ward of Walsall M.B.C., was one of a trio of Labour gains.  They also took the Castle seat on Leicester City Council from the Greens and, disappointingly, the Riversway seat in Preston C.C. from our local Lib Dems.  In Wales, Llais Gwynedd, or Voice of Gwynedd for the Anglophones amongst us, held the Diffwys and Maenofferon seat on Gwynedd against a Plaid Cymru challenge, a contest in which there was no Liberal Democrat candidate.  

With a by-election clutch as dreary as the recent weather, we’ve saved the best ‘til last in the form of our successful defence of the Corfe Mullen South seat on East Dorset District Council.  Nestled in the Mid-Dorset and North Poole constituency of our own Annette Brooke, the ward itself has been a Lib Dem stronghold for the past seventeen years.  With weekly Focus and election literature, in addition to Definite and Probable-targeted letters, we capitalised on local issues of the day, particularly wheelie-bin allocations and a controversial nearby landfill site, to reinforce our message of community politics.  A legacy benefit of approximately 50% new canvass data across the ward and a smooth Postal Vote operation combined to defeat a negative Tory campaign and a lacklustre UKIP effort.  Congratulations to Councillor Philip Harknett, and our hard-working team in East Dorset.

Out in the towns, we had some good news in the form of a hold and a gain on Barnstaple Town Council, unfortunately counterbalanced by a pair of losses on Bradfield Parish Council in Sheffield.  We also lost a Town Councillor in Knaresborough, near Harrogate, to the Tories, making it a pretty torrid time for Liberal Democrats at all local government levels.  There are another nine principals up next week, of which we are defending three.  The best of luck to all our candidates and campaigners across the country.

In addition to being both April Fools’ Day and Maundy Thursday this year, the first of April has, for the last ten years, been ‘Edible Book Day’.  Anyone who fancies whipping up a gastronomic masterpiece for next year should check out www.books2eat.com for inspiration.  Unfortunately, our electoral tasting menu is again rather sparse this week, with one principal by-election and one single Town Council result reported to ALDC.

The principal by-election contest took place in the John O Gaunt ward of Lancaster City District Council.  It is all change in the parliamentary constituency, the thirteen-year-old constituency of Lancaster & Wyre is giving way to the new Lancaster & Fleetwood for next month’s general election.  In John O Gaunt itself, the Labour party were defending this highly urban ward following a resignation, with the Greens aiming to make the jump from second to first place and become the largest group on the Lancaster City Council.  The Liberal Democrat campaign benefited from an enthusiastic new candidate in Harry Armistead, a mature student at the University of Cumbria’s Lancaster campus, whose tireless campaigning impressed many.  Also adding value was the ‘back-room’ organisation of Michael Mumford, which had doubled the activist base in Lancaster over the preceding year.  A variety of leaflets included a candidate introduction, two newsletters, and a candidate’s blue letter.  A postal vote drive at the University also bore fruit, with 300 PV’s returned overall, and mainly to our advantage.  The Liberal Democrats’ policy positions on unaffordable rent levels in Lancaster’s market and traffic issues in the city centre proved popular on the doorstep.  In the end, Labour held the seat with a marginal reduction in their vote.  The main losers in this contest were the Greens, whose plans to become the largest party in Lancaster were frustrated primarily by the presence of a Liberal Democrat candidate – the Greens were pushed from second to third, losing almost a fifth of their previous vote.  

In Seaton Ward of Ashington Town Council, the Labour party gained the seat from the Liberal Democrats.

Finally, the ALDC is providing the party’s election law helpline for both the local and general elections.  Any candidates or campaigners with legal queries can reach our team on 01422 843 785 between 0915 and 1715.  Enquiries can also be submitted by email via our website, we aim to provide a same-day advice service to any email enquiries received prior to 1400 each day.   

ALDC By-Elections Team

On the 213th anniversary of the first peaceful transfer of power between two democratically elected leaders (Washington and Adams), British liberal democracy enjoyed a rather quiet tally of one principal by-election and two reported contests for a total of three Town Council seats.  The former resulted in a Tory hold, whilst of the three Town Council seats, two now find themselves occupied by the Liberal Democrats.

Tory dominated Fenland District Council’s by-election in The Mills saw the Conservatives hold on despite a dramatic 11% decline in their vote, the majority of which fell to UKIP.  The Liberal Democrat campaign varied A3 and A4 literature, with EARS, Mosaic, and partial telephone canvassing making up the hi-tech end of the effort.  Whilst canvass coverage was slightly depressed due to inclement weather, a blanket Eve of Poll and targeted Good Morning held the Lib Dem vote steady and ensured a good second place for well-respected local campaigner Chris Howes.  Nestled in the constituency of North East Cambridgeshire, a former Liberal stronghold and parliamentary seat of Clement Freud, one wonders whether Fenland Lib Dems stand on the verge of further successes in the future.

The Mills was also the venue for a double-contest for Chatteris Town Council.  Caused by the death of one Conservative councillor and the resignation of another (a co-opted councillor whose party affiliation, if any, remains unclear), we are pleased to report a Lib Dem gain in the form of Town Councillor Diane Baldry, who came within 16 votes of first place.  

Finally, fast times indeed at Winsford Town Council, where the victory of Alfred Beverly Theron (pictured, right) in the town’s Wharton ward, took the council into Lib Dem control for the first time in its history.  Jumping four places from their last result, the traditional ingredients of Liberal Democrat success – numbers on the ground, effective canvassing, local issues, and a dedicated team – took the seat from a Tory party that is still failing to regain the trust of voters on the doorstep, despite the deep unpopularity of the Labour government.  

There were four principal council elections held on the 4th February. The Tories held one seat. The Lib Dems held one seat but also lost two seats to Labour. There were three Parish council elections reported to ALDC.

Rarely, thankfully, do we have to report on an utter disaster, but that was the case in the Holmewood and Heath by-election in North East Derbyshire. In 2007 two Labour councillors were elected for the ward un-opposed. In fact they had been unopposed for the last 20 years and only Labour had ever been elected in this coal mining and largely council housing renting area. In April 2008 there was a by-election that we won with 42% and a 26 vote majority.  Our sitting councillor resigned after 14 months non-attendance due to ill health and we failed to stand a candidate to defend the seat. The problem may have come from the ward switching from the  North East Derbyshire constituency to Bolsover in the boundary changes but whatever the reason conceding without a fight borders on the politically criminal.

Further bad news came in the form of a loss to Labour in the Queens Park Ward of Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council.  The Lib Dem’s in Blackburn form part of a joint administration. The seat was vacant beacuse the councillor resigned - he had been expelled from the Group for non-attendance and he subsequently resigned from the Council The council's weekly bin collections and Housing Market Renewal scheme were popular, its gritting and ensuing bin collection problems were not - particularly when polling day itself involved snow related traffic problems.

The line was finally drawn at the Whyteleafe Ward of Tandridge District Council in Surrey, where recently appointed PPC David Lee led the party to a successful defence.   A general ‘anti’ vote drove the UKIP vote share well beyond the likely return on their limited campaign, and a half-hearted Tory effort failed to register dramatically.  The Labour party failed to field a candidate.  Creating a legacy of new canvass data, in addition to returning a Liberal Democrat Councillor to Tandridge DC, makes the Lee campaign a bright spot in an otherwise dreary February week. 

The only other principal election this week was an unremarkable Conservative Hold in the Newchapel Ward of Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council.  The Tories held off UKIP by only 60 votes, an early indication, perhaps, of the electoral dangers currently facing the Conservatives in 2010’s new political climate.
 

We achieved an amazing 63% of the vote in a parish council by-election in Great Sankey. This parish is in the key parliamentary seat of Warrington South and this will be a boost to Jo Crotty’s chance of becoming their next MP. The by-election was called by the Conservatives who were confident of taking the seat from us. However we ran an intensive campaign of regular leaflets, good mornings and blue letters. We also made special efforts with the postal vote and this proved crucial with roughly 50% of those voting doing so by post – important on what was a very cold polling day.

Earlswood and Whitebushes is a former Lib Dem held ward just south of the town of Redhill in Surrey. Since we lost the seat it has gained a reputation for close by-election contests. This time we came within 78 votes of beating the Conservatives, with the same candidate having lost by just 41 votes two years ago. With a keen campaign team in the borough, lets hope that next time we finally make it.