Ladbrokes Will this be a Glasgow East – or a Glenrothes? There’s just one day of campaigning left before the polls open in what’s becoming a hard-fought by-election in Inverclyde – on paper, an easy hold for Labour, but that was before May’s Holyrood election saw most of the Scottish electoral map repainted in SNP yellow, and it goes without saying that a poor result here will put even more pressure on Ed Miliband. Political big guns have been visiting…
Could the SNP band-wagon continue? Exactly a week on from tonight the polls will close in the first by-election of the new parliament caused by the demise of the MP elected at the May 2010 general election. All the other contests have been either prompted by the courts in one way or another – Phill Woolas/Eric Illsley – or else because the May 5th winner wanted to fight an election for a position outside Westminster – Sir Peter Soulsby in…
BBC news Will these be the big English battles on May 5th One development that hasn’t been given much attention is the decision by Sir Peter Soulsby to resign his seat of Leicester South following his selection as Labour candidate in May’s first election for the Mayor of Leicester. What focus there has been on this has been on the parliamentary by-election – but isn’t his decision to abandon Westminster more interesting? For these elected mayor positions, which only exist…
(Mrs Thatcher stepped down as PM on November 28th 1990) Thanks to Paul Waugh at PoliticsHome for spotting this – the latest campaign material being used by Labour ahead of tomorrow’s by-election. A big challenge in what is a super-safe seat will be getting the vote out and it’s revealing that the party feels that the Thatcher message is the strongest card. Even allowing for the fact that in the centre of what was the Yorkshire coalfield hostility towards the…
Is the answer a blue-yellow incumbents’ pact? One thing that strikes me following Old & Sad is that Labour is in a stronger position to gain seats in parliamentary by-elections than any opposition party has been for decades. For where SNP/PC considerations don’t apply the red team will always be the unequivocal choice for those wanting to oppose the government. The protest vote won’t be split. Normally they’ve had to have a spat with the yellows over who is best…
Oldham East & Saddleworth: the result Labour 14,718 42.1 Lib Dem 11,160 31.9 Conservative 4,481 12.8 UKIP 2,029 5.8 BNP 1,560 4.5 Others 982 2.8 Labour Majority 3,558 Double Carpet The results for the Election Game are available here – well done to Raymond Kelly and Robert Barnsley who tied for the win.
Andy Stephenson (via Wikimedia Commons) Continuation Thread …please continue the election night discussion here – and don’t forget to catch Our Genial Host on the BBC1 election result programme from 12.20. Double Carpet
Some pre-Xmas good news for the yellows? Today’s news that no charges are to be brought against Portsmouth South MP, Mike Hancock, should provide some welcome good news for Nick Clegg and his party. For if the case of alleged “inappropriate behaviour” with a constituent had gone to trial then Hancock would probably have had to resign his seat leading to a very difficult by-election for his party to have to fight. He had been arrested and bailed in October….