Hartside on Eden (Con defence) Result: Con 175 (53% -4% on last time) , Ind 98 (30% -13% on last time) , Green 58 (18%, no candidate last time) Conservative HOLD with a majority of 77 (13%) on a swing of 4.5% from Ind to Con Codsall on Staffordshire (Con defence) Result: Con 1,274 (68% -7% on last time), Green 329 (17% +6% on last time), Lab 283 (15% +1% on last time) Conservative HOLD with a majority of 945…
Don Brind on the politics of the post-Carrilion world When Jon Trickett was leader of the Leeds City Council in the early 90s he had a regular Friday date with finance department officials. He got them to bring along every bill the council had paid that week. He then pulled out at random a number of bills to prompt a discussion on whether the ratepayers had got value for money from suppliers. “I hate waste” declares Trickett and his hands-on…
Falmouth, Smithick on Cornwall (Lab defence) Result: Lab 643 (60% +20% on last time), Con 184 (17% -7% on last time), Lib Dem 184 (17% -2% on last time), Green 57 (5% -11% on last time) Labour HOLD with a majority of 459 (43%) on a swing of 13.5% from Con to Lab Pallion on Sunderland (Lab defence) Result: Lib Dem 1,251 (54% +50% on last time), Lab 807 (35% -16% on last time), Con 126 (5% -8% on last…
Don Brind on the shadow HomeSec There was something churlish about Diane Abbott’s attempt to put down Tony Blair recently — “no one can now remember that they supported Tony Blair.” She surely can’t have forgotten how the then Labour leader came to her defence in one of the most uncomfortable phases of her career when she sent son to a fee paying school. She is now Shadow Home Secretary the job in which Blair made his name. If she…
Local By-Election Summary : January 2018 Votes Cast, Share, Vote Share Change and Seat Change Conservatives 11,047 votes (47.75% +5.71% on last time) winning 7 seats (+1 seat on last time) Labour 6,036 votes (26.09% +6.28% on last time) winning 1 seat (-1 seat on last time) Liberal Democrats 3,538 votes (15.29% +5.62% on last time) winning 1 seat (unchanged on last time) Independent candidates 1,070 votes (4.62% -3.29% on last time) winning 1 seat (unchanged on last time) Green…
Don Brind on Corbyn’s successor I was on holiday last week with an old mate who is intensely proud of his northern roots. Born a scouser he made his mark on Yorkshire newspapers before his well-honed shorthand, bulging contacts book and nose for news earned him a transfer to Westminster. He became a popular and respected member of the lobby but decades after his arrival there it still rankles with him that his accent was mocked by a southern, middle…
Hulton on Bolton (Lab defence) Result: Con 1,455 (49% +16% on last time), Lab 1,179 (40% +3% on last time), UKIP 190 (6% -18% on last time), Lib Dem 67 (2% unchanged on last time), Green 52 (2% -1% on last time) Conservative GAIN from Labour with a majority of 276 (9%) on a swing of 6.5% from Lab to Con Newport Pagnell North and Hanslope on Milton Keynes (Con defence) Result: Con 1,604 (53% +15% on last time), Lab…
A guest slot from Julian Glassford The vertiginous rise of the new champion of the alt-right in 2016 prompted a palpable blend of bafflement and consternation among the political elite right around the globe. Few dared even imagine that Donald Trump would triumph over his wily, experienced, and altogether far more internationally acceptable rival in the US presidential election. Indeed, most appeared caught almost completely off-guard and, a year on, none have yet managed to figure out quite how to…