11:29 pm
With only 633 votes to seperate the Liberal Democrat candidate Ben Abbotts & Conservative Candidate Bob Neill, this was a Liberal Democrat victory, crushing a 13,000 Tory majority with an exceptional tour de force. The public know that David Cameron is just another Tony Blair clone - all spin, no substance, no policy, no direction and all flip-flopping deception. Ben Abbotts emerged with the more ministerial-like speech of victory and praise for the people of Bromley & Chislehurst in comparison to Bob Neill, who chose to focus on a so-called "attack" on his personal character, unfairly blaming the ...
9:59 pm
One thing that was interesting about the last demonstration that I attended was that George Galloway did not turn up. It was a demonstration about unjust systems where people are punished because allegations are made against them not because they are actually found guilty. Yes, it was the demonstration by about 100 Bankers and Directors about the extradition of the NatWest 3. This is just the
9:45 pm
These are two very special women, recognised in the Queen's Birthday Honours this year. On the right, Dame Jane Campbell from Tolworth who was made a Dame for her services to social chair and to disabled people. She is Chair of the Social Care Institute for Excellence. Her husband, Roger Symes, is on the left. Between them is Ginny Clarke from Berrylands, who was awarded...
8:14 pm
Francis Maude has asked ConHome contributors for their input into by-election strategy. This admirable attempt to engage activists has produced some real gems. Do some of the comments, like contributors asking for outside helpers to be given maps of the constituency, indicate that the Conservative campaign organisation was shambolic? Certainly Lib Dem campaigners seem to be very keen on their maps (there was a very nice multi-coloured one on the wall of the committee room I was in yesterday, for instance). Another contributor says that "the organisation can be left to agents but we need a political brain to mastermind ...
7:40 pm
Britain's latest great hope, Andy Murray, has a blog. Good for him, a tennis star who takes his fans seriously. The whole country is rooting for him against Andy Roddick. But surely 3,276 comments to a single post is obscene. Hat tip to Holyrood Chronicles.
7:23 pm
Here's something I posted on Politicalbetting.com earlier today... "I went to bed last night with Tories promising to ‘eat their hats’ if there was a recount and accusing ‘Limp Dems’ of spin for suggesting B&C was going to be close. Whither DC & Rik now? Anyway, gloat over (teehee). This is a great result for the LibDems, very poor for the Tories and BG was just plain abysmal for Labour. However, this result does not really change the fundamentals of the current political situation. The Tories are doing well under Cameron but not well enough ...
7:15 pm
(Shrug) They won, and they’re still whining about it. Have you ever seen them so scared? Mr Cameron’s probably not very wise to start whinging about how unfair the Lib Dems are. He must be very scared about how badly the other Tories are taking his first big disaster at the top. I guess they think he’s a bit too Line of Beauty – wealthy, looks good, but a bit vacuous and too busy, er, having a good time to put the work in. But he’s the sort that’s got to say it’s all someone else’s fault, isn’t he? ...
7:03 pm
This post is a strange mix of compressed comment and anecdote. I'll deal with the comment first, and then move to the anecdote, yesterday, that genuinely quite moved me. I am still a bit too shattered to write much about the absolutely fantastic result this morning. I involuntarily fell asleep mid-conversation as we were driving home at 5am. I gather that this is the Tories' most showing in a by-election while in opposition since the 1930s. The young Tories were certainly on top form last night, smirking fixed grins as they swilled around outside the Civic Centre. I suppose for ...
6:40 pm
,,,but what makes Cameron thinks they love a bad winner. I imagine that he is feeling the heat.
6:18 pm
Not democratic accountability. Heather, according to this ill-written page from their website: "Unsurpassed heather moorland is what this National Park is all about." Unsurpassed heather, mark you. The NYM National Parks website also has a lot a say about its role in ensuring our economic wellbeing: "The North York Moors National Park Authority is looking at ways of using the special qualities
5:41 pm
Hello from London. I’m on the move with little time to blog, but I had to pop in to say congratulations to Ming, Ben and the Bromley and Chislehurst by-election campaign team for running the Tories so close. I’m yet to Bob Neill’s repotredlty ungracious acceptance speech, but I caught the declaration on the news [...]
5:24 pm
OK- my take on Bromley. The Tories tactics were naive and the had a very poor candidate who committed a series of blunders throughout the campaign (and afterwards- his acceptance speech was very ill judged). If the question is only one of tactics, then the Tories should not be too worried. But it is not just tactics. It is strategy they should be worried about. Cameron is just not convincing as a cuddly greenie Consider the only policies that he as actually put forward: "leave the EPP and become even more Eurosceptic""support the Iraq Occupation and support for the war""maybe ...
5:01 pm
BBC NEWS | Politics | Lib Dems accused of playing dirty So, David Cameron is accusing us of fighting dirty in Bromley? Apparently the fact that we pointed out that the Tory candidate already had 3 jobs, was not local, and had fibbed on his nomination papers explains how the Tories managed to squander a 13,000 [...]
4:02 pm
(This post is by Paul LLoyd). Cameron’s march towards the so called centre ground of politics suffered a severe blow yesterday, and the dilemma that has faced the Tory leader since he took over, and that he has never faced, remains. And that dilemma is that the Conservative Party that was left over after the 1997 defeat represents the quarter to a third of Britain that is fundamentally opposed to progress in all of its forms. This was not the old One Nation Conservative Party that had gradually wrested power since the mid-Nineteenth Century - a broad church, fundamentally Christian ...
3:18 pm
My former employer Brian Cotter has now made his maiden speech in the Lords. It is on the subject of international development, about which he knows a great deal. He notes Fergal Keane as one of his heroes, and I believe they were involved in a charity for widows of the Rwandan genocide together. I got to meet Mr Keane (very briefly) at DFID at couple of months ago, and he genuinely is a great investigative journalist, he seems to take a much broader view of just how complex development issues are than the likes of Michaela Wrong and the ...
2:03 pm
I didn’t make it to Bromley and while doubtless a couple of visits would have eaten a little into the Tories’ precarious majority I refuse to feel guilty about it. After the local elections in Watford, followed immediately by a council by-election, I needed to restore some order to the other bits of my life and just had to sit this one out. While it was clearly a very good result, I share some of James Graham's reservations about what I understand of the party’s campaign. Don’t get me wrong, I have no sympathy at all for the Tories, since ...
2:00 pm
A short while ago I wrote about Fordhall Farm and how it was in danger, they needed to raise £800,000 to save the farm by 1st July. Well this morning they have officially raised the money needed and have been saved! Thanks to anyone who read the site and donated, bought a share or gave a loan.
12:55 pm
A lot of the blogs (Liberal Tory) seem to be skirting around the Bromley result a bit, with the Tories not mentioning it, and the Liberals considering it an unqualified success. So, I thought I'd have a go at some...
12:55 pm
I posted one blog piece at about twenty to ten this morning, the next about twenty past, and the latest about ten minutes before one o’clock. Imagine my surprise when I find Blogger has dated them at 9.39, 9.48 and 10.31. I may write quite a bit, but I’ve never been someone who writes quickly. If only this time travel / rapid composition effect was visible in real life!
11:55 am
The BBC has a quotes page on the by-election results. Link to BBC round-up of reaction to the by-election results The most interesting words come from a former Conservative Party chairman "I am in complete agreement with the successful Independent candidate at Blaenau Gwent who said that the parties must listen to the people and if they don't it will be the worse for them. That comment applies to both by-elections. The Liberal Democrats must be congratulating themselves on selecting a leader of experience and maturity," Ex-Conservative chairman Lord Tebbit So praise for Ming - but the real target ...
11:45 am
The BBC has a quotes page on the by-election results. Link to BBC round-up of reaction to the by-election results The most interesting words come from a former Conservative Party chairman "I am in complete agreement with the successful Independent candidate at Blaenau Gwent who said that the parties must listen to the people and if they don't it will be the worse for them. That comment applies to both by-elections. The Liberal Democrats must be congratulating themselves on selecting a leader of experience and maturity," Ex-Conservative chairman Lord Tebbit So praise for Ming - but the real target ...
11:36 am
Simon Jenkins infuriates and delights in equal measure, but today’s article in the Guardian fell in the latter category. The Church of England is simply absurd. I was unaware of how the number of Bishops has sky-rocketed over the past 100 years, but I was aware of how the jealously guarded seats the Church has in [...]
11:20 am
If yesterday's by-election result in Bromley and Chislehurst was replicated in Wolverhampton South West at the next General Election the Liberal Democrats would win the seat. Colin Ross, who stood in 2005 for the Liberal Democrats said "I am delighted to see that the Bromley result shows that we can win in Wolverhampton South West. I went to Bromley to help Ben Abbotts and although he missed out on victory by the narrowest of margins he fought an excellent campaign, we will be looking to replicate the swing in Wolverhampton at the next General Election."
11:12 am
The Conservatives only just retained their seventeenth safest seat in the country with a tiny 633 majority, despite a huge swing to the Liberal Democrats. In Blaenau Gwent the Independents won both the Westminster and Welsh Assembly seats over Labour with the Liberal Democrats improving their result. In the local by-election in Burton Labour won the seat and the Liberal Democrats polled respectably.
11:01 am
Not withstanding my irritation about Lib Dem campaign techniques, a sincere well done to the Bromley and Chislehurst team. I wrote my post last night suspecting that it was going to be close; the fact that it was as close as it was does of course give me pause for thought. With the majority slashed to [...]
10:31 am
In confessional mood and having earlier made an unkind reference to Mr Dave ‘Balloon’ Cameron’s cocaine use, I should declare my own addictive behaviour. Regular readers know this involves food. I may mock the influence of advertising, but actually I’m a sucker for certain types of it. First, there’s the Mae West principle: “When choosing between two evils, I always like to try the one I've never tried before”. A new flavour to try? Get it now! And my reaction to Cadbury’s withdrawing chocolate bars for salmonella: “Lots of chocolate on the telly! I must buy some.” And I did. ...
10:16 am
A blog dedicated to cats that look like Hitler. No, really.
9:48 am
Seeing the depths Labour plunged to and hearing opponents bleating that Liberal Democrats were doing work and it’s not fair reminded me of my own favourite ‘Lib Dem dirty trick’. Back in May 1993, the Lib Dems had spectacularly good county council and by-election results, when the Tories took a drubbing and we took Newbury with numerically the largest Liberal majority since, well, in fact ever to that point. I was at university at the time, with students’ union elections coming up and close of nominations at five pm on the Friday, almost exactly twelve hours after the Newbury declaration. ...
9:39 am
Back to blogging; funny how difficult it is to get back into the habit after a while. Another startling election result means I’ve decided just to get on and do it, and among all the things to say about Bromley one thing Richard said this morning stands out: we need to state straight out something really positive we campaigned on. It’s clear the Tories are posing as Bambi’s mum with Lib Dems the nasty, blood-soaked hunter, and another stunning ‘Independent’ victory in Blaenau Gwent is a warning that ‘But the others are rubbish!’ is no longer our unique selling point. ...
9:26 am
An office BBQ precludes me from posting to the degree that last nights sensational result in Bromley deserves. To devour a 13,000 majority from third place is an achievement of epic proportions. Even the worst of our detractors will now have to admit that you can NEVER write off the the Lib Dems. This will ring a very hollow [...]
9:19 am
How to raise £2500 for charity in half an hour... ask all the pupils, parents and friends of the school to submit their own works of art for an auction. Then watch as parents bid up to £100 to buy their own children's paintings! It was a brilliant concept, developed by Sharon Mehta for St Pauls' Junior School, Kingston Hill. And it was given a real boost when Quentin Blake and...
8:58 am
Three by election results last night. Two in the traditional Labour heartland that returned Nye Bevan and Michael Foot but held by independents, one in the old Tory stomping ground of Harold MacMillan. In the end Labour failed to regain either the Westminster or Cardiff seat of Blaenau Gwent from the Independents standing on the lagacy of Peter Law. In Bromley and Chislehurst they sank to fourth
8:30 am
Wow! Stunning result in Bromley and Chislehurst. A big boost for the party to come so close (agonisingly close!) to winning what was one of the very safest Conservative seat in the country. For us the lesson is fairly simple – it's a shame that Ben Abbotts didn't quite make it, but it was a fantastic result for him and the team. Also good news for Ming Campbell – he campaigned heavily in the
7:17 am
The consequences of yesterday's by-elections will reverberate for some time. In Wales Labour failed to win back the seats they had lost to the Peter Law insurgency by quite spectacular majorities in the context of the history of Blaenau Gwent. This area is Labour heartland, the home of Aneurin Bevan and the power-base of Michael Foot. These results will have far-reaching consequences, not least on the balance of power in the Welsh Assembly. If Rhodri Morgan was holding on before because Peter Law and David Davies were forced to balance their time between Westminster and Cardiff, he ...
3:10 am
...are the results. Laptop perched on knee in bathroom watching News 24 via wireless...a new pemutation of my early morning election result watching. BBC describe Bromley as "extremely close": Bromley: Tories: 11,629; LibDems 10,988, 641 majority. Well done Team!!! Labour 4th in Bromley and C. Bob 'personally disappointed' and refused to thank all candidates: 'vicious...unpleasant...under-handed...cynical...personal abuse'...not bitter then! "You smell" is personal abuse. "You've got three jobs and want a fourth", isn't.
2:55 am
Results are now in from the Bromley and Chislehurst by-election. The seat was won by Conservative candidate Bob Neill, but only by the narrowest of margins over the Lib Dem Ben Abbotts. The previous majority of over 13,000 at the last general election has been slashed to less than 900, as both Labour and the Tories lost vote share to the Lib Dems. It's always agonising to see a narrow defeat, but to have come so close in one of the safest Conservative seats in the country is something that should give Ben Abbotts and everyone who took ...
2:54 am
Well Bob Neal... and I hesitate to add 'MP' to that... just made possibly the most ungracious, bitter, victory speech I have seen since Peter Mandelson's rant at Arthur Scargill. Ben Abbott then showed him up with a far more relaxed and confident performance. The result is a sensation. In an election where we should have expected to have held our position, possibly edging Labour into third we have come a very narrow second. Labour decimated... Bob-a-job the Tory ...
2:51 am
The salient details from Bromley: CON 11629 LD 10988 UKIP 2347 LAB 1925 Others 2181 Bob Neill having a pop now - first time I've ever heard sour grapes in a victory speech... Good result for us overall.
1:51 am
Sky News, never shy of calling a result early, has run a story stating that Labour have failed to gain Blaenau Gwent from the (ex-labour) indies. No word yet on Bromley, which as On Liberty correctly says, means either that...
1:45 am
I probably won’t stay up for much longer waiting for the by-election results, but while waiting, I did come across this bizarre story about one of the more pointless candidates standing in Bromley and Chislehurst. Apparently the BBC is riddled with gay sex, which is news to me. Concrete slab sex on children’s programmes maybe, [...]
12:54 am
Well, actually, they’re extremely tenuous at best, but I did enjoy watching When Julie Met Toby last night on BBC 2. My “links” such as they are were that I went to Manchester University just after Charlotte Raven had left. Raven was the sabbatical Women’s Officer when Derek Draper was a sabb as well (in [...]
12:27 am
...but not Bromley! According to this report, the Independents are likely to retain Blaenau Gwent - a result that would make me reasonably happy. What would make me happier of course is if something were to happen in Bromley and Chislehurst - a contest about which Sky are currently predicting nothing. Sky are not usually shy about calling results ahead of time based on sources at the count - so
12:21 am
Got the latest Empire this evening. A few film related things: In July we are to be treated to both Pirates of the Carribean 2 and Superman Returns (which is either Superman 5 - after the Quest for Peace - 2.5 - sort of set after 2 - or 2 - the spiritual sequel [...]
Thursday 29th June 2006,
Wednesday 28th June 2006,
Tuesday 27th June 2006,
Monday 26th June 2006,
Sunday 25th June 2006,
Saturday 24th June 2006
