After an eventual slew of 26 by-election results on May 3rd, it was a relatively quiet day at the office for Lib Dem campaign teams across Britain. There were two principal council by-elections, and one reported town council contest, and very little of significance to report.
In the Kidsgrove ward of Newcastle-under-Lyme, Labour held their seat with a substantial 18% increase in their share of the vote. Our candidate came third, dropping just over 7%. Unfortunately the drop was enough to put the Tories into second place in a ward that we have held in recent years.
Whilst the 105 people who wanted to vote Liberal Democrat in Kidsgrove had the chance to do so, the same can’t be said for any of our supporters in the Chinnor ward of South Oxfordshire District Council, where the Tories, Independents, and Labour slugged it out between themselves. It’s hard to believe we don’t have a single member in all of South Oxfordshire who could have put their name forward, so getting a bird on the ballot next time would be much better. In the end, the Conservatives held comfortably.
Out in the towns, we had a contest for the Meeds North ward of Burgess Hill Town Council, where our candidate Kathleen Carman Willis took a respectable 19% of the vote – only four short of second place and thirty-four off a win. Onwards and upwards, Burgess Hill!
Finally, a quick note on ALDC’s online resources. Our ‘Time To Say Thank You’ guide is newly available on aldc.org (http://bit.ly/II3AVD), and there is a whole host of useful post-election discussion taking place on our new Facebook Group (http://on.fb.me/JHYOrh). Both are members-only, but for those of you who have not yet taken the plunge, this really is the time! You can find more details at aldc.org/join/.
The very best of luck to all of our councillors, candidates and campaigners out in the field.
Craig Whittall
craig.whittall@aldc.org