We had a mixed day in North Hinksey and Wytham, with Debby Hallett elected for the Lib Dems, along with a Tory. I was unsuccessful and I must be philosophical about that. I've had a great experience working in the ward and I've enjoyed meeting many voters. My thanks go to everyone who supported me and Debby and I wish Debby every success on the Vale. Sadly the Lib Dems lost the Vale to the Tories after 16 years of running the council very well. If the experience of the Tory county council is anything to go by, residents in ...
We've had sight of the new plans but they are very short of detail. There is no design for the replacement shelter, and there are no details for the seating - the plans are just blobs on a map. We'll post a link to them as soon as we can - sorry for the delay, which is because of involvement with the referendum count.
I have just got back from Glasgow. Rather than attempt to offer my own analysis of the election, I thought I would offer a selection of comment from within the party... Let's start with the cheerful Stephen Tall on Liberal Democrat Voice: "I think we can now more or less officially say: these results are a disaster for the Lib Dems, worse than most of us had feared they could be." Splash Blog! won't like my choice of graphic: "As Churchillian as 'keep calm and carry on' might sound, that would be simply the wrong approach to this debacle." "I ...
For obvious reasons, this will be my last blog on this site, written with a heavy heart. Leaving, after 14 years in the party, has been a heart wrenching decision. Even after I decided what to do, I delayed acting on it until after the elections were over out of loyalty to friends in CHiltern Lib Dems who have faced tough battles to be re-elected. So here are my reasons for joining Labour. I profoundly disagree with the policies of the coalition government. I believe that the pace and scale of public spending cuts is damaging the economic recovery and ...
I got up at half five in the morning on thursday after five hours sleep to spend fifteen hours pounding the streets, knocking on doors and ringing up people to remind them to vote. Some party members in my area did even more and on far less sleep. Today I attended the count at the Spectrum leisure centre from 9.30am. Here are the results: Conservative: 34 Liberal Democrat: 12 Labour: 2 Prior to the elections we had 21 seats and the tories had 27. The counting lasted for 12 hours. Today was a very bad day. We went in hoping ...
I wanted to get in touch immediately to thank everyone who has worked so hard in the elections. This was always going to be a challenging time. For the first time in most of our memories we were fighting as a party of Government - and a government dealing with the economic mess Labour left us in. But there is no getting away from the fact that this has been a bad set of results – both the election results for the Liberal Democrats and the referendum outcome. I am certainly deeply disappointed. I know many of you are too. ...
So, I want to get a blog going1 like Kitty Stryker's with sexual politics, equality, thinky things, reviews... the latter focusing on the stuff you can get without selling your limbs to pay for UK delivery. But, I've a problem: I've been dwelling on it for months but am completely stuck for a name - and so I turn to the Internet! If you have any thoughts or ideas, I'd love to hear them. Criteria:memorableeasy to spellcross-gender, non-specific sexualitydoesn't blatantly scream A BLOG ABOUT SEX! - playing with words is goodnot tied to a specific location (although "Sex in the ...
It looks like Hackney had the highest Yes2AV vote in the UK, at 61%. Thank you to all Hackney reformers who helped with the campaign, and to everyone who came out and voted yes. Hackney must be one of the few places in the country where it was a truly cross-party campaign. It was a ...
The result of the 2011 City Council elections for Acocks Green are as follows: Labour (Stewart Stacey) 3,102 Lib Dem (Penny Wagg) 2,161 Conservative 606 Green 277 UKIP 275 Many congratulations to Stewart for his victory and I look forward to working with him for the benefit of Acocks Green. I was particularly pleased by the tribute he paid to Penny Wagg for the exceptional service she has given over the past 8 years. I don't always agree with Stewart but on that point he was spot on. I'm sure Penny will be back, but for now I hope she ...
An email has been sent to party members by Nick Clegg, being quite open about the party's situation, but also being positive about what comes next. I am struck by the reference to the Coalition having implemented 75% of the Lib Dem manifesto, compared to only 60% of the Tory manifesto. Let's shout this from the rooftops. The email reads: I wanted to get in touch immediately to thank everyone who has worked so hard in the elections. This was always going to be a challenging time. For the first time in most of our memories we were fighting as ...
Glastonbury St Johns' – District Council John Coles (con) [235] – Elected Mike Free (ind) [172] Steve Boswell (ld) [115] Linda Benfield (grn) [102] Malcolm Higgins (ind) [90] Peter Trueman (lab) [56] Glastonbury St. Johns' – Town Council Mike Free (ind) [345] – Elected John Coles (con) [320] – Elected John Keery (ld) [267] – Elected Susan Thurgood (con) [228] – Elected Linda Benfield (grn) [227] Hazel Pegg (grn) [204] Steve Boswell () [175] Before I start to ramble on, I'd like to congratulate my opponents in the local elections. John Coles (con) and Mike Free (ind) both put up ...
Today has not been a good day. I spent most of the afternoon and early evening at the count, watching friends lose their seats or not gain them, then watched ballot papers get piled higher and higher in the "No" slot, and then had to clear a big pile of potentially spoilt ballots, which overwhelmingly meant me saying "yup, that person clearly meant to vote No" a lot more than the other way around. So tonight, I'm watching Victoria Coren on Have I Got News For You (not a single guest I can't stand, this is a step up) and ...
Thank you to the 630 of you that voted for me in Herontye district election (I have left the count before the Town results have been declared) and congratulations to the two Messrs Belsey and Sweatman for their success. A special thanks to my running mate, Chris Jerrey, who has helped me cope with the occasional rude person who assumed that people wanting to do their best for the town deserve less respect than the stuff one tries to avoid standing in when walking in the country! Besides this Chris,(who has so superbly served Herontye for 4 years at Mid ...
Dear all: this will be my last blog post, of course, on the campaign. The campaign is over, but I've learned and experienced a great deal. The result for Central Hove was one Conservative councillor and one Green councillor: congratulations to Andrew Wealls and Christopher Hawtree. Cllr Paul Elgood also lost his seat in Brunswick and Adelaide. There is now no Lib Dem representation in Brighton and Hove. However, there are still Liberal Democrats and those voting for and supporting them, who will continue to fight for a Liberal city. I spent a pleasant couple of hours telling at Hove ...
A fantastic result! Well done team! Results: LDs 12, Con 11: LibDems: Victoria 4 Northcroft 4 Pyle Hill 2 Clay Hill 1 St Johns 1 Conservatives: Falkland 4 Clay Hill 3 Brummel 1 St Johns 3 There were recounts at St Johns (the third Tory seat was won by them by just 3 votes) and in Northcroft.
A little maths to lighten the gloom.How strange that the Tories and Labour NOs did not quote Arrow's Impossibility Theorem, which proves mathematically that no voting system can meet three criteria of fairness (see extract above).No, I don't understand it either.
The control of Bury Council came down to one seat. Recounts couldn't separate the two candidates. So short straws were drawn to see who won and hence who got control of the council:
Well after a long night at the verification last night and an even longer morning at the count I was re-elected to Babergh District Council after a break of 16 years, along with friend and colleague Sue Carpendale. Here are the results: Sue Carpendale 819 Kathy Pollard 808 Conservative 766 Conservative 671 Lab 228 UKIP 112 UKIP 108 I look forward to serving the parishes of Stratford St. Mary, Holton St. Mary and my home village of Capel St. Mary.
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There was clearly a misunderstanding in the sheer weight of public loathing towards the Lib Dems in the UK.The Lib Dems believed, some would say correctly, that their huge investment in community engagement, the time and energy they volunteer in making their wards and boroughs a better place, would mean the public could see beyond the politics and see the real people.Grassroots has saved the Lib
Desperate, awful, heartbreaking, unjust - yes, but overwhelming agony! The scale of the defeats in the local government, Wales, Scotland and AV are utterly, utterly terrible. The scale of defeat one would have hoped Labour would have suffered post Iraq, post Credit Crunch. So my question is, after such a debacle, should Nick resign? One would typically expect a leader to do the honourable thing after defeats on this scale. We can point to reasons for this defeat; the Tory funded nasty Nick leaflet that popped through every letterbox (where even the official Electoral Commission leaflet didn't); Labour's blatant, shameless ...
George Pippas has been elected as the new Liberal Democrat city councillor for Queen Edith's. The figures were as follows: Election Candidate Party Votes % George Pippas Liberal Democrat 1318 41% Elected Vince Marino Conservative 830 26% Not elected Sue Birtles Labour 642 20% Not elected Brian Westcott Green Party 416 13% Not elected George was a very hard-working candidate and I am looking forward to working with him on the City Council and in Queen Edith's. Thanks to all those who supported George and the Lib Dem team yesterday. You may be interested to know Queen Edith's had the ...
[IMG: Ballot Box] Well, it looks like our worst fears have come true. The 'No' vote is romping home to a greater than 2:1 ratio victory, and we're probably going to be stuck with Tory and Labour votes counting for between four and infinite times as much as other votes for another twenty years. Party No of Votes No of Seats Seats per Vote Vote Value Conservatives 10,703,754 306 0.000028588 0.95 Labour 8,609,527 258 0.000029967 1 Liberal Democrat 6,836,824 57 0.000008337 0.28 UK Independence 920,334 0 0 0 Green Party 285,616 1 0.000003501 0.12 BNP 563,743 0 0 0 By ...
I am not long back from the AV referendum count at DISC after three hours sleep last night and a 22.5 hour working day on polling day, so I'll try to keep this necessarily short ... The election result has been exceptionally disappointing for the Liberal Democrats and in Dundee it was no different. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all who voted Scottish Liberal Democrats in Dundee yesterday and also place on record my appreciation to Alison Burns in Dundee City West, Allan Petrie in Dundee City East and our team of party workers for all ...
Yes it does. A lot. I put my heart and soul into the ward of Knaphill and to lose it the way I did hurts like nothing else I have ever experienced. I have been a local campaigner in Knaphill, ... Continue reading →
Swale Borough Council: Murston ward - two councillors Nick Williams (Labour) 482 Ed Gent (Conservative) 420* Dave Banks (Liberal Democrat) 420 Paul Williams (Labour) 369 Keith Nevols (Liberal Democrat) 236 (Nick Williams and Ed Gent elected) *settled by drawing of lots. A very long election day was followed by a longer than expected day at the count which started at 9am and didn't finish until gone 6.30pm. Murston was the last result to call mainly due to the fact that seven (!) recounts were needed to decide on the second place. Firstly, Ed Gent was one vote up, then Dave ...
Yes – 28627 No – 73120 Filed under: Bidston, Bidston & St. James, Elections, Wirral Council Tagged: AV result
There's always one. The media always want someone, always falsely elevated (to make the story sound good) to the status of a senior Liberal Democrat, to say something negative when the chips are down and they can't find a genuinely senior figure to say it. This time round, it's our candidate for directly elected Sheriff of Nottingham, or whoever he is. Where's Robin Hood when we need him? I'm sure he's a good chap and a fine Liberal Democrat and he can say what he likes. It just amuses me to see someone who the Standard tells me is (or ...
The alternative vote system would have been a disaster for the Liberal Democrats. What we are seeing in the local elections and the recent opinion polls are the birth pangs of the liberal party as a serious party of Government. The Liberal Democrats were never going to win an overall majority and enter Government alone. ...
It has been a very tiring and disappointing couple of days. The election results across the country were bad for the Liberal Democrats, and bad for constitutional reform. The party needs to listen to people now and learn where things have gone wrong. Overall the Local Liberal Democrats lost two of the seats we were defending and held two of them. Balance of power between the Lib-Dem/Labour coalition that runs Calderdale is now pretty even so it will be interesting to see what happens there. Personally it's been a pleasure working on John Frederiksen's campaign, and talking to so many ...
The AV Referendum Count started at 4pm on the 6th May. A select few were there to observe the proceedings, Cllr Bridson, Cllr Clements, Cllr McCubbin, Cllr Steve Williams, Ann Davies. The leader and deputy leader of the Council Cllr Green and Cllr Rennie came by for a short time to watch it happening in ...
When I quickly penned this morning's results round-up, I thought I'd struck a more or less appropriately pessimistic tone; that the results were undeniably grim for the party, but we'd have to wait for the rest of the day to see if there was something of a north/south divide. Well, I've waited, and I think we can now more or less officially say: these results are a disaster for the Lib Dems, worse than most of us had feared they could be. In Scotland, the party has been reduced from 16 MSPs to just five. In Wales, we clung onto ...
Nigel Ashton has been elected as the new local councillor for Southport's Meols Ward, which covers Churchtown, Crossens and Marshside. Nigel replaces David Tattersall, who has retired as a councillor. The full result, which was declared on Friday afternoon at the Southport count at Dunes Leisure Centre is: Nigel Ashton, Liberal Democrat 1,211 Conservative 1,136 Labour 711 Southport Party 628 UKIP 278 The results for every ward in Sefton are available on the Council's website.
Here are the Liberal Democrat entries in the top 100 political blogs as ranked by Wikio: 1 (5) Liberal Democrat Voice No change 2 (19) Jack of Kent Up 31 3 (33) Liberal England Up 6 4 (36) Caron's Musings Up 2 5 (47) Mark Pack Up 12 6 (56) Mark Thompson Up 2 7 (74) Lynne Featherstone Up 19 8 (79) Liberal Vision Down 6 9 (81) Miss S B Up 14 10 (84) Peter Black New 11 (87) Paul Walter New 12 (98) Nick Thornsby Down 8 No-one drops out this month, and Paul Walter and Peter Black ...
The night before the election VN reported that the polls were looking good for No2AV. The actual voting looks a lot worse for the Yes campaign. Confusion and Cleggphobia have spilled over from the local elections, and with 28 places declared No were sitting on a staggering 70%. Chris Huhne had earlier already conceded the ...
Absolutely stunned that Scott Benton won Brighouse over sitting independent Joyce Cawthra, and that John Ford won Elland. Sad that Stephen Gow and Olwen Jennings lost their seats. Gutted that Hywel didn't take Calder. Or maybe I read a typoed set of results and we have 27 between us, not 17, so that's some comfort at least. As for me, my vote totally collapsed. I got less than 200; about a fifth what I got last time. Not a massive surprise, but it still hurts. And the referendum results are coming in and it looks like it's going to be ...
The campaign is over, the last leaflet delivered, the last door knocked upon, and I've attended the count. On what turned out to be a less than stellar night for the Liberal Democrats nationally, Mid Suffolk saw its share of losses too, with Tony Fowler losing in the Stonhams, Mohammed Touran in Claydon and Barham, and Carol Milward biting the dust in Elmswell and Norton. We await the result from Stowmarket South but we will retain at least six of the ten seats that we held going into the election, and remain the official opposition. As for me, it turned ...
It's Friday. It's five o'clock. Here's a fistful of lists that sum up the LDV week: 5 most-read stories on LDV this week Homophobic smears hit Leicester South by-election (37 comments) by Mark Pack Lib Dem members say: AV referendum result irrelevant to Coalition's future (16 comments) by Stephen Tall How to vote - and what to do once you've voted (1 comment) by Mark Pack Greens would pick up most Lib Dem 2nd preferences under AV: LDV members survey (14 comments) by Stephen Tall LibLink: Chris Huhne - AV referendum: why progressives must unite to vote yes (64 comments) ...
I did last night blog that I was back and free to blog. Well I'm not quite free quite yet, I'm currently at a count for the referendum somewhere. However, my good friend Michael said yes yesterday, did so earlier on today at Belfast City Hall and will be doing so tomorrow at All Souls Church. Yeah after voting yesterday, earlier today he and Andrew went through their civil partnership ceremony, but tomorrow at the their Ceremony of Commitment before God only then will they consider themselves fully married. Hopefully by now I have my Argyll Jacket to go with ...
...but blaming the electorate is a pretty dumb thing to do. If people are happy with what you are doing they will vote for you. If they are not, they won't. That is the only lesson anyone should draw from election results.
20:00 update: Liberal Democrats 12 seats, Conservatives 11 seats. So LibDems retain control. LibDems won: Victoria 4, Northcroft 4, Pyle Hill 2, St Johns 1, Clay Hill 1 Conservatives: Falkland 4, Clay Hill 3, St Johns 1, Brummel 1 18:30 update: Recounts are going on for the St Johns and Northcroft wards. ...Are being covered here as part of NewburyToday's live results feed. Also here on the NTC website. 17:45 update: Brummel Con gain. Clayhill 3 Con holds, 1 LD hold. I'm expecting the LibDems to retain control because the Tories only stood three candidates in St Johns, so there ...
I have already given my verdict on the Yes campaign, which, it seems certain, has turned what could have been a close result in the historic AV referendum into a drubbing - with a lot of help from a well-run, brazenly tactical No campaign. What the referendum has shown, in my view, is that British politics is now largely divided between partisans and pluralists, and more importantly, so is the electorate. As the ideological framework of the main parties has fragmented, so too has the old hereditary passing down of support from generation to generation. However, there is still a ...
Well, it has been an emotional rollercoaster of a night. A lack of sleep, nerves torn to shreds and a distinct lack of fingernails have all pointed to what has been a dramatic and indeed, for many of us liberals, a traumatic electoral evening. Last night, before the polls closed, Daran Hill gave an excellent non-partisan look on the Wales Home blog here at what he knew would be a testing night ahead. He mentioned the essential humanity that is evident on these nights when friends from across the political spectrum witness their political stars rise or indeed, fall to ...
A big thank you to those who voted for me in the Council Election on May 5th. We got our result about 5.30am, just as well I took the matchsticks along! Here's the full Stockwood result. Jay Jethwa Conservative 1606 (elected) Yvonne Clapp Labour 1022 Michael Goulden Lib Dem 426 Peter Goodwin Green 356 Kind regards Michael
Well, it is all over bar the shouting and inevitable punditry - which will undoubtedly consign us to oblivion. However I am not so down-hearted. I'm not going to cover the AV campaign where the "No" campaign was dirty but effective, whereas the "Yes" campaign was frankly bloody awful. Instead I'd prefer to focus on the local elections. I think there are two main reasons we have lost votes in these. First, we have been defined more by what we are not than by what we are. What do I mean by this? Consider our share of the vote in ...
Liberal Democrats are reflecting on the likely and disappointing loss of the AV referendum, and difficult electoral results in Scotland, Wales and in English local elections. The Social Liberal Forum has said for some time that the party needed to show more publicly ... Continue reading →
The new parking restrictions and charges have come into force in Launceston and I have received a number of complaints. People are, as predicted, angry about the decision of Cornwall Council to raise charges and there are concerns that shoppers will choose either to go to out of town supermarkets in preference to town centre shops or that they will take a chance on not getting a ticket by parking on the street. There is also anger about the decision to restrict parking in all but one car park to just three hours at a time. Until now, many people ...
Am on BBC One Northern Ireland for next three hours analysing the election results as they come in. Live streaming here, though we probably don't get actual results for for another two hours.
Not a good night for the Lib Dem team here in Holyrood Ward, or across Prestwich. Regrettably we lost all three seats in Prestwich to Labour, which reflected a trend both across the region and much of the country. In Wilf Davison, Richard Baum and Steve Wright Prestwich has lost three excellent councillors, and it is a great shame that we wont have their enthusiasm, ideas and energy standing up for the local community. But a HUGE THANK YOU to the very many people who did support the team. There are a lot of important issues affecting the local area ...
We just failed to take a 5th by 16 after a recount Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device
There's no way to spin it really: the local election results have been bad for the Liberal Democrats. This is not unexpected given the opinion polls, but that scarcely makes it easier for those whose hard work has not been recognised. Many will be feeling angry, looking for someone to blame. Nick Clegg stands as an obvious focus for such anger. But blaming him is neither helpful nor justified. Many are angry because we went into coalition with the Tories. There is talk of betrayal (a lot of it from people who never voted for us anyway, but nevertheless). There ...
The early morning horror show has continued for the Liberal Democrats. They have now lost 421 councillors in England so far, and have control of only 7 councils (down 5). It's not looking much better across the borders in Scotland and Wales, where only four Lib Dems have been elected to each of the devolved ...
There are some huge stories waiting to be told about last night's Holyrood election drama. In fact, the overall result (as yet to be confirmed) is so incredible, so utterly unpredictable and so far-reaching in its potential ramifications, that in the next few days I will be reflecting on what it means for the Liberal Democrats, Labour, the SNP and Scottish democracy as a whole. It is surely not only a stunning victory for the SNP (the scale of which went against even the most expert of opinions) but evidence of the folly of designing an electoral system with the ...
When Liberal Democrat party members voted to endorse the decision to go into coalition with the Conservatives they knew they were entering challenging times. The consequences of that decision were laid bare last night as the voting ended and the counting began. Over the years the party has picked up a lot of natural Labour voters who have a visceral hatred of Conservatives. This is especially true in the North. As soon as the Lib Dems went into government those voters were bound to feel betrayed and angry. No doubt, if the electoral arithmetic had been otherwise and Clegg had ...
Over on his work blog, The Voice's Mark Pack is using 1993 as the yardstick to judge this year's elections results by: The year 1993 is turning out to be the benchmark for the Liberal Democrat performance in Thursday's elections. Though no-one (including myself) was talking of 1993 before Thursday, two numbers both point to that year. First, it looks as if the proportion of local councillors who are Liberal Democrat will be back to 1993 levels once the final results are in today. Second, the April ICM poll put the party on 15% – the same figure as in ...
The best tweet I've read: "If my defeat tonight is part payment so that no child will spend another night in a detention centre then I accept it, with all my heart." That was by Alex Cole-Hamilton a Scottish parliamentary candidate (Edinburgh Central). In England up and down the country hard working councillors have lost their seats - often to people who might not do as good a job. This though was inevitable. People see the Tories in power and think back to Thatcher. I'm too young to remember it but it obviously still resonates. We knew this though going ...
A political earthquake has happened north of the border. Scotland have handed a majority to the SNP, something Labour failed to ever achieve in the Scottish Parliament. Myself and other commentators cannot fathom the words to explain the consequences of ... Continue reading →
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The year 1993 is turning out to be the benchmark for the Liberal Democrat performance in Thursday's elections. Though no-one (including myself) was talking of 1993 before Thursday, two numbers both point to that year. First, it looks as if the proportion of local councillors who are Liberal Democrat will be back to 1993 levels once the final results are in today. Second, the April ICM poll put the party on 15 per cent - the same figure as in April 1993, also one year on from a general election. The equivalent Aprils in other parliaments since then all saw ...
Cambridge Ward 44.0% Dukes 39.6% Norwood 35.3% Kew 33.6% Birkdale 41.0% Ainsdale 48.2% More to come, results through in about one hour
Will be available here from 4pm today.
In the aftermath of Thursday's elections, it's no surprise that there is plenty of speculation on how the results may affect the re-thinking going on over Andrew Lansley's NHS plans. But there's another significant public services dispute bubbling along, mostly unnoticed. It's over the forthcoming Public Services White Paper, an early draft of which caused consternation in Liberal Democrat ranks (with one senior Liberal Democrat calling it shocking) due to its enthusiastic backing for introducing widespread private provision of public services. In the latest draft, as the BBC reported during the week, the emphasis is much more on bringing in ...
17:00 All results in. 4 Tory gains. 1 LibDem gain. New balance: Tories 39, LibDems 13. 16:30 situation: 40 seats have announced. Four have changed hands – Thatcham South and North seats to Con gain. Dare I say it, but a few seats which were...ahem....vulnerable have been held by the LibDems. The results will be posted here on West Berkshire Council's website. In the meantime, NewburyToday are keeping a live thread going here. I'll also be updating this post below with any notable events as they happen. Counting started at 9.30am at the Racecourse. The first result is expected at ...
Fri 6th
11:07
AV referendum: We have to accept that the British people just didn't like change and didn't like AV
Mark Thompson has written an excellent and frank summary of the AV campaigns. Two points: 1. I was extremely frustrated that the Yes campaign didn't send out a flyer to all households by Royal Mail (as the No campaign did) explaining AV. And what the hell happened to the Electoral Commission pamphlet to every house explaining AV – both sides of the argument? During the Common Market referendum during the 70s, the government sent out a pamphlet to every home giving both sides of the argument. 2. This has strengthened me in the view that reform needs to be done ...
Its seems we took a bit of a beating last night. Disappointing results across the City. We had some losses. Surprisingly Labour is the new protest vote. Three years ago Lib Dems were the protest vote. Unfortunately Brislington East, despite our efforts, went to the Labour man from Fishponds. Another faceless labour man. Seems to be the in vogue - parachuting union men into seats. But then Peter Hammond is back... But then if this is what Brislington wants then this is what they shall get.
The counting is ongoing, but early election results seem to indicate a bad night for the Liberal Democrats, modest success for Labour, and a good result for Conservatives, holding their own on an already high base. The AV referendum will likely be lost. Not much has changed in Wales, bar a small and anticipated Labour advance. In Scotland the success of the SNP against everyone, potentially securing a small majority under a proportional voting system, is extraordinary and could be game-changing. Either it will give them the momentum they need for a proper debate about independence. Or it will be ...
A huge thank you to all those who voted for me yesterday. Unfortunately it wasn't enough to re-elect me to serve for another four years as your councillor. It has been a privilege to be your councillor for the last four years. A more detailed post will follow when we have had some sleep!
This is just a quick post to say thank you to everyone who voted for me in yesterday's council election. It has been an honour and a privilege to serve as a councillor for the Selly Oak Ward over the last seven years, but unfortunately I was not re-elected.I know that we have achieved a lot together over that period and I have been very grateful for the warm welcome and kind words that I have
The result in Bidston & St. James has been declared. However I as candidate dispute the result. The reason why is that in my opinion it is not an accurate reflection of how I and many other people voted. People can't vote for one party and have their vote added to another party instead! It ...
The Newcastle Journal has the sad news: The Liberal Democrat candidate for Westerhope, Neil Hamilton, died this afternoon after spending the day campaigning. Police were called to his house after no-one could contact him. Mr Hamilton, thought to be in his early 60s, was a junior cricket coach. Under council rules, if a candidate dies during an election, and before all votes are cast, the election is null and void and a by-election must be held. Our condolences to Mr Hamilton's family, and to the local party in Newcastle.
When I came downstairs this morning Holly said It says on the news that Liberal Democrats had a bad night, mummy. Do you need a hug? The results haven't been fun so far, have they? So here I present some small crumbs of comfort to those of us who are feeling battered and bruised by the electoral process this morning.Paddy Ashdown, Mike Hancock, Adrian Sanders and Evan Harris who all did sterling work on the telly last night. Projected vote share. Yes, we have lost a lot of seats. But projected vote share is 15%, which is a lot better ...
I spent many hours yesterday walking the streets of Herontye ward, meeting people and chasing up votes. The count of votes for Mid Sussex has now started and we should know the results this afternoon. So will I be "spending more time with my family" or "relishing the challenges ahead"? Watch this space!
LibCync: Too little too late from the Yes campaign At the time of bookmarking I don't know the result, but I think the criticism applies whatever the result is. (tags: government)
I have updated this post slightly on Friday afternoon following the declaration of all results in Bury. St Mary's ward has a new Councillor. Labour's Noel Bayley beat me in the election yesterday, by a margin of 573 votes. So I'm not a Councillor any more. Across the north of England we Lib Dems were ...
The Independent write Real achievements that show Clegg's plight is undeserved today that will give little consolation to today's news but highlights some strengths that will go unnoticed today The stridency and absolutism of the Conservative-led No campaign is evidence in itself of how the Lib Dems have added substance and softened edges to government ...
Roads and shops empty. Loving the #royalwedding # @alexwilcock Intrigued as to which tweet you were replying to now! Hope you're well + enjoying today's episode of Britain's Got Anachronism. in reply to alexwilcock # @alexwilcock Aha. I love a bit of crackling. And no, I don't mean Kate or Miriam. #notevenwatchingroyalwedding in reply to alexwilcock # Girlfriend very proud she predicted Kate would be wearing a McQueen-designed dress. #doingsowellatavoidingroyalweddingfever # Luv this Popbitch joke: 'At any time the temptation to sing The Lion Sleeps Tonight is never more than a whim away.' # RT @catherine_mayer: In case you haven't ...
I am writing this just before 9am the morning after the AV referendum ballot. As of yet the result has not been announced. Polls just before the start of voting showed a very strong lead for the No camp. It is still possible Yes could win, after all we don't often have referenda in this country and polling is not an exact science. However on balance it is looking quite likely that No will win the day. I expect that as a strong Yes supporter I will be accused by some regarding what I am about to write of sour ...
No doubt I'll be blogging lots about the election results in coming days but for now can I make a quick plea... Can we stop spinning the line that the results are what happens to a party in government in mid term elections. If we were the only party in government that would be fine. But we're not. And when I left home this morning, the Tory share of the vote was roughly equal to their general election results last year, and they had gained 40 or so seats across English councils. So this isn't a party in government issue. ...
One quick thought for you. Labour, in Scotland, suffered a "shellacking" at the hands of the SNP. That defeat was magnified to a very large extent by none other than the First Past The Post electoral system. You know, that system most of them came out and backed. But wait! Scotland doesn't have just FPTP. ...
The press are having a go at the LibDems for making big losses in large cities in the north of England, and comparing us to the Tories, the Tories didn't have anywhere to lose in those cities. So any anti-government vote there has been absorbed by the Liberal Democrats. Liverpool, Manchester, Sheffield, Hull (and probably Newcastle later) are taking it in the neck, but down south we've mainly held up.
There will be a full dissection of the West Lindsey District Council results later, but at the moment the one result that hits me most is the fact that I lost my seat on the council.
Alex Cole-Hamilton Caron Lindsay has well and truly summed up the results for our friends in the Scottish Liberal Democrats. One of our contributors who has been somewhat busy with the Yes to Fairer Votes campaign here stood for the Party's nomination for Edinburgh Central last year. Stephen Glenn didn't get the nomination, Alex Cole-Hamilton ...
The words 'Good morning' may seem overly ironic if you're a Lib dem waking up this morning to the news of the party's pretty awful 2011 election results. Here's a quick round-up for those who've avoided the media so far today... Scotland: a huge night for the SNP, with the Lib Dems and Labour both suffering a rout at the hands of the nationalists. With 59 of 73 results declared, the Lib Dems have just four seats, a loss of seven. It sounds like the party will end up with six MSPs, down from 16. Wales: a good night for ...
Bit of a pasting for my party last night nationally. Now there are only two opposition councillors in the Bracknell Borough council as Labour council leader Jeananne Shillcock lost her seat by 5 votes. Harsh Results For Bracknell can be viewed here.
Just got in from last nights or rather this mornings election count as you can imagine quite an intensive evening and in places exceedingly boring as the count went on forever and as I left at seven, there were still some awaiting their fate however it was fairly clear that labour had made quite an inroad into the Tory vote. In Dane Valley Labour had a big win which I am sure had nothing to do with the 28 strong crack team of canvassers bussed in from London and rag bag of front bench Labour MPs and also runs. Still ...
i) births and deaths 6 May 1945: birth of Nicholas Mallett, who directed The Mysterious Planet (1986), Paradise Towers (1987) and The Curse of Fenric (1989). 6 May 1976: death of Alethea Charlton, who played Hur in An Unearthly Child (1963) and Edith in The time Meddler (1964). ii) broadcast anniversaries 6 May 1967: broadcast of fifth epside of The Faceless Ones. The Chameleons explain that they lost their identities. In an explosion. 6 May 1972: broadcast of fifth episode of The Mutants. The Marshal forces the Doctor to work for him by holding Jo hostage. 6 May 2006: broadcast ...
As I've already had one phone call this morning asking how I did, here's the result for Castle Ward: Nick Barlow (Lib Dem): 1113 Green: 715 Conservative: 583 Labour: 368 Thanks to everyone who voted for me, and I look forward to representing you for another four years. Elsewhere in Colchester, everything stayed the same with every seat being held, despite Labour and Tory claims that they were certain to take seats off us. For the full results, see the Council's website.
It has been an exhausting 24 hours culminating in one of the most emotional and difficult counts I have ever been to. After having gone to the Swansea and Gower counts I travelled to Bridgend to discover that there was a significant deficit that needed to be made up if I was to be elected. Two regional results were outstanding in Swansea West and Gower, but even though I knew that the Welsh Liberal Democrats had done well in those seats I did not think it was possible to get enough votes to make up the difference. I even went ...
Nick Clegg has made two historic errors. Firstly, the referendum on AV should never have been held simultaneously with council elections. I always thought this was a mistake and hoped the House of Lords might succeed in forcing a delay. This vital issue was subsumed into the party political battle. Voting "No" became a way of punishing the Liberal Democrats. Campaigners' efforts were diverted
Well, after a night like last night, it would be very churlish not to congratulate the SNP. My friends who are SNP activists are clearly thrilled to bits at an amazing night for them. Their success even makes Jeff at Better Nation's crystal ball look pessimistic. Domination in Edinburgh, Glasgow, the Central Belt and the North East. And they're still picking up on the lists. I'm not going to get into any deep and meaningful analysis until it all sinks in a bit. Clearly the Westminster Coalition has done for us - but we were not blameless in Scotland either. ...
On eBay I found a Victorian pocket watch which was made by Dorey Lester and Co, of Kilburn. This was not a name I recognised, so I asked Dick Weindling, a local historian, to see if he could find anything. He found that Dorey Lester was born in Snaresbrook (then in Essex), on 1 August 1853 with the wonderful name of Lancelot Dorey Lester. His father, a gardener, was also called Lancelot and was living in Camden Town. Initially, Dorey worked as a company clerk but then he decided to be a clock maker. On 9 September 1874 at St ...
In what has proved to be a very tough year for the Liberal Democrats to face the electorate, Pam and I like to thank everyone who supported us in Cheadle and Gatley where Pam's re-election was announced in the early hours of this morning. The result was: Pam King (Liberal Democrats) 2153 Conservatives 2063 Labour 1143. The turnout was a high (for local elections) 46.5% and Pam's majority is 90. Whatever happens nationally, you can be sure that Pam, myself and the team will continue to work hard to get the best for our villages. Iain.
I am writing this before the result of the referendum is known so that, whatever the nation has decided, I shall not be accused of sour grapes. Even if by some miracle the "Yes" campaign wins, I believe that from three points of view: the arguments of the protagonists, the conduct of the campaign, and its reporting, the campaign has been a disgrace, more worthy of a banana republic with a semi-literate population rather than one of the world's most mature democracies . The arguments put out on both sides have been pathetic. The distortions of the truth from the ...
YATE CENTRAL (3 seats) CHIVERS Michael John Labour - 242 DAVIS John Anthony Lib Dem Focus - 720 ELECTED FORD John Paul Lib Dem Focus - 680 ELECTED WALKER Sue Lib Dem Focus - 830 ELECTED YATE NORTH (4 seats) DREW Mike Lib Dem Focus - 1421 ELECTED NORTHAM Kion Kevan Conservative - 659 PERKS Wully Lib Dem Focus - 1256 ELECTED ROBBINS Mike Lib Dem Focus - 1319 ELECTED TESTA Russell Antony Guy Labour - 292 WILLMORE Chris Lib Dem Focus -1208 ELECTED YATE SOUTH EAST (3 seats) ADAMS Arthur Frank Lib Dem Focus - 903 ELECTED CHOWDHRY Aziz ...
It might have been expected, but that won't be making any Lib Dem activists or councillors feel any better as they watch the party get wiped out in key northern cities this morning. Labour have taken back the key council of Sheffield, the city in which Lib Dem leader and Deputy PM Nick Clegg is ...
SODBURY NORTH EAST (5 seats) CROOK Sally Lib Dem Focus - 537 ELECTED JOBBINS Paul Lib Dem Focus - 561 ELECTED PEMBLE Steve Conservative - 365 ROBINS Paul Lib Dem Focus - 580 ELECTED SMITH Paddy Conservative - 435 ELECTED YOUNG Paul William Conservative - 383 ELECTED SODBURY SOUTH WEST (5 seats) BOON Linda Lib Dem Focus - 429 ELECTED BROWN Graham Reginald Labour - 159 GALL Melody Anne Conservative - 312 GALL Rod Conservative - 297 KENDALL James Lib Dem Focus - 350 ELECTED LLOYD Mark William Bruce Independent - 231 LUND Jane Lib Dem Focus - 342 NEWMAN ...
DODINGTON NORTH EAST (4 seats) BOON Linda Lib Dem Focus - 663 ELECTED DAVIS John V Lib Dem Focus - 636 ELECTED RUSH Adrian Lib Dem Focus - 570 ELECTED STEPHEN Gloria Lib Dem Focus - 613 ELECTED WHITTLE Paul John Conservative - 382 WHITTLE Wendy Anne Conservative - 361 DODINGTON NORTH WEST (8 seats) ADAMS Barry Lib Dem Focus - ELECTED without contest COTTERELL Patricia Janet Lib Dem Focus - ELECTED without contest CROWE Kay Lib Dem Focus - ELECTED without contest HOLBROOK Dafydd Lib Dem Focus - ELECTED without contest HULBERT Paul Lib Dem Focus - ELECTED without ...
CHIPPING SODBURY (2 seats) BOON Linda Lib Dem Focus - 1606 ELECTED BROWNLIE Donald Lawrence Labour - 278 RUSH Adrian Lib Dem Focus - 1461 ELECTED SPRINGER Rudi Labour - 257 WHITTLE Paul John Conservative - 1198 WHITTLE Wendy Anne Conservative -1085 DODINGTON (2 seats) BYFIELD Michael John Labour - 294 HOLBROOK Dafydd Lib Dem Focus - 1340 ELECTED JARVIS Christine Ann Conservative - 429 LAWRANCE Alan Lib Dem Focus - 1324 ELECTED PEARCE David George Labour - 285 RUNDLE Jason Colin Conservative - 452 YATE CENTRAL (2 seats) BEER Dennis Powsland Labour - 295 CHIVERS Michael John Labour - ...
I had a very good polling day today in Woodley with the excellent Lib Dem team. Some excellent councillors in Northern cities, not least Carl Minns in Hull or Paul Clein in Liverpool or Simon Ashley in Manchester, are being punished for things that have nothing to do with their own record. Those places will be the poorer for their absence. I suspect that the full picture will be more mixed than it looks from overwhelmingly Northern-centred results and snippets. I fear that the biggest issue of the night – the need for a voting system that is fairer and ...
Nearly all referendums ask whether voters support a particular piece of legislation or a proposition. It is highly unusual for them to be asked to vote on a whether they support bits of a bill. Given the AV referendum was shoe-horned into a bill reducing the number of parliamentary constituencies, shouldn't we have been asked to vote on this question yesterday? Do you support the introduction of the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill that reduces the number of MPs and introduces the alternative vote system for electing them? Just a thought.
UPDATE: This post was based in the assumption that the Scottish Green Party gets more MSPs that we do. That looks unlikely. I have come to respect a few of the Greens activists and I suspect that they are truly gutted. They had real hopes for this election whereas the Lib Dems already had real fear. UPDATE II: The Greens did not meet their target of 7 seats or even the 8 or 9 that some polls had given them. They stayed on 2. But the night was still a disaster for us and unless we change now, we will ...
Last Sunday the Gospel reading at church was from St John. It was about St Thomas who did not believe that Jesus had come back to life. "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nailmarks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe." Jesus did supply the evidence but Thomas was stuck with the title "doubting" and now a doubting Thomas is a term used for anyone who does not believe without seeing the evidence. And then we had the death of Osama bin Laden. The only ...
