Huge swing to Lib Dem in Witney as party scores best Parliamentary by-election result since 2004
Alongside the Witney and Batley & Spen Parliamentary by-elections, twelve council by-elections have also taken place this week.
Witney by-election result
- Liberal Democrats move up from 4th to 2nd
- 19.3% swing from Tories to Lib Dems
- Lib Dem vote up 23.4% to 30.2%
- Conservative majority cut by over 20,000
- Biggest Lib Dem vote increase in a Parliamentary by-election for twelve years (since Hartlepool in 2004)
- Highest Lib Dem vote in the constituency this century
- Labour falls back to 3rd
- Greens and Ukip lose their deposits
Witney result:
CON: 45.1% (-15.1)
LDEM: 30.2% (+23.5)
LAB: 15.0% (-2.2)
GRN: 3.5% (-1.5)
UKIP: 3.5% (-5.6)— Britain Elects (@BritainElects) October 21, 2016
Provisional #WitneyByElection turnout 47% – slightly below average for a Tory seat, but nothing like some of the rumours suggested…
— Number Cruncher Politics UK (@NCPoliticsUK) October 20, 2016
#WitneyByElection count staff ploughing on with ballot paper verification pic.twitter.com/AAqSVzVIip
— Matthew Cooper (@MatthewCooperPA) October 20, 2016
Party members are observing the count at the #WitneyByElection pic.twitter.com/HgTX4e9yul
— Matt Oliver (@DMailMattO) October 20, 2016
The key test for Liz Leffman and the Liberal Democrats in Witney was whether the party could move back into second, the sort of result which would suggest the Lib Dems can return large parts of southern England to being Lib Dem versus Conservative contests… and that’s a test the Liberal Democrats passed. For more on how to judge the Lib Dem Witney result see here.
Elsewhere some promising signs for the Liberal Democrats too with a win and a hold.
Denis Healy has been a Liberal Democrat Parliamentary and Police and Crime Commissioner candidate. Now he’s won a council by-election in a three-member ward that was split and returned some Lib Dems in 2003 and 2007, before the party slipped to third in 2011 and then fourth in 2015.
Liberal Democrat GAIN St Mary's (East Riding of Yorkshire) from Conservative).
— Britain Elects (@BritainElects) October 20, 2016
St Mary's (E. Riding of Yorks.):
LD: 40.0% (+28.7)
CON: 25.3% (-3.2)
LAB: 18.4% (+0.6)
BEV: 9.7% (-1.2)
IND: 3.8% (+3.8)
UKIP: 2.7% (-10.3)— Britain Elects (@BritainElects) October 20, 2016
Congratulations to Ellie Hudspith and the local team for a solid defence in St Albans in a ward that stayed with the party all through coalition:
Liberal Democrat HOLD Clarence (St Albans).
— Britain Elects (@BritainElects) October 20, 2016
Clarence (St Albans) result:
LDEM: 56.9% (+6.0)
CON: 24.1% (+2.9)
LAB: 12.0% (-5.2)
GRN: 6.1% (-3.7)
UKIP: 1.0% (+1.0)— Britain Elects (@BritainElects) October 20, 2016
The loss of a Ukip council seat to the Tories will be rare case of a Conservative victory that many Liberal Democrats will be quite happy with, I suspect:
Medway (Strood South) result:
CON: 38.4% (+3.4)
LAB: 27.7% (+3.4)
UKIP: 25.5% (-13.2)
GRN: 3.9% (+3.9)
LDEM: 3.3% (+3.3)
EDEM: 1.2% (+1.2)— Britain Elects (@BritainElects) October 20, 2016
Worth noting here that it’s a ward where Labour used to sometimes split the ward, but is the Conservatives rather than Labour who gained the seat at Ukip’s expense.
Elsewhere, Labour gained a seat but lost three others:
Labour GAIN Witham North (Braintree) from Conservative.
— Britain Elects (@BritainElects) October 20, 2016
Witham North (Braintree) result:
LAB: 37.5% (+6.1)
CON: 34.0% (-4.8)
GRN: 25.1% (+4.7)
LDEM: 3.4% (-5.9)— Britain Elects (@BritainElects) October 21, 2016
Abergele Pensarn (Conwy) result:
Ind (Hunter): 31.5% (+31.5)
Ind (Smith): 27.1% (+5.4)
LAB: 25.2% (-0.7)
CON: 16.1% (+7.4)
Ind GAIN from Lab— Britain Elects (@BritainElects) October 21, 2016
Rothwell (Kettering) result:
CON: 48.3% (+10.6)
LAB: 34.4% (-6.7)
UKIP: 7.5% (-8.5)
GRN: 5.2% (+0.0)
LDEM: 4.6% (+4.6)
Con GAIN from Lab.— Britain Elects (@BritainElects) October 21, 2016
Plaid Cymru GAIN Blaengwrach (Neath Port Talbot) from Labour.
— Britain Elects (@BritainElects) October 20, 2016
Blaengwrach (Neath Port Talbot) result:
PC: 48.0% (+3.6)
LAB: 30.5% (-25.1)
IND: 12.4% (+12.4)
UKIP: 8.3% (+8.3)
CON: 0.9% (+0.9)— Britain Elects (@BritainElects) October 20, 2016
Labour HOLD Central (Middlesbrough).
— Britain Elects (@BritainElects) October 20, 2016
Central (Middlesbrough) result:
LAB: 73.6% (+37.7)
IND: 14.4% (+14.4)
CON: 6.8% (+6.8)
LDEM: 5.1% (+5.1)
No. of Independents didn't stand.— Britain Elects (@BritainElects) October 21, 2016
Conservative HOLD Central Sandhurst (Bracknell Forest).
— Britain Elects (@BritainElects) October 20, 2016
Central Sandhurst (Bracknell Forest) result:
CON: 69.3% (+6.3)
LAB: 30.7% (+10.5)
LDem didn't stand this time round.— Britain Elects (@BritainElects) October 20, 2016
Wey Valley (Weymouth & Portland) result:
CON: 62.3% (+0.4)
LDEM: 15.5% (+15.5)
LAB: 12.6% (-9.8)
GRN: 9.7% (-6.1)
Con HOLD.— Britain Elects (@BritainElects) October 21, 2016
Bumpstead (Braintree) result:
CON: 64.8% (+3.0)
UKIP: 14.8% (-4.8)
LAB: 8.3% (-10.2)
LDEM: 7.4% (+7.4)
GRN: 4.6% (+4.6)
Con HOLD.— Britain Elects (@BritainElects) October 21, 2016
Heacham (King's Lynn):
IND (Parish): 37.7% (+37.7)
CON: 32.2% (-38.9)
LDEM: 7.8% (+7.8)
UKIP: 7.8% (+7.8)
IND: 7.4% (+7.4)
LAB: 7.0% (-21.9)— Britain Elects (@BritainElects) October 21, 2016
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