U.K Local By-Elections Thread

[Rural Radical]

I was speaking with a Hamilton based SNP activist. He says (though I take this with a bucket of salt) that the canvass returns from Hamilton South are looking very good for the SNP- some switchers and many stay at home voters but overall a movement to the SNP in the first vote from Conservative voters. I also get the impression the SNP seem to be targeting Hamilton South intensly. I had originally thought there would be some effort, but resources would be concentrated on East Kilbride.

Well, activists do always tend to find that cavassing is good for them

Seriously though, parties looking for a breakthrough don't always target the seat everyone expects them to; before the last General Election, most observers thought the LibDems would go after either Newcastle "Central" or Blaydon.

What seats are they going to target then?

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Three interesting results... in Coleraine, the Alliance sprung an upset and took the seat of a disgraced (and now jailed for electoral fraud) former DUP Mayor. The APNI polled 28%, the DUP 28% and the UUP 25%.
In Lancaster, Labour easily held the safe Skerton West ward with the BNP (who had put a lot of effort into it and who had made sure a by-election was called to fill the vacancy was called in the first place; this close to an election there has to be a request to hold a by-election) polling just 93 votes.
But in Epping Forest, the BNP polled about a fifth of the vote in the Grange Hill ward (which they didn't even bother to contest earlier this year) and in doing so nearly helped the LibDems beat off a Tory challenge to the seat; but not quite.

[Rural Radical]

Three interesting results... in Coleraine, the Alliance sprung an upset and took the seat of a disgraced (and now jailed for electoral fraud) former DUP Mayor. The APNI polled 28%, the DUP 28% and the UUP 25%.
In Lancaster, Labour easily held the safe Skerton West ward with the BNP (who had put a lot of effort into it and who had made sure a by-election was called to fill the vacancy was called in the first place; this close to an election there has to be a request to hold a by-election) polling just 93 votes.
But in Epping Forest, the BNP polled about a fifth of the vote in the Grange Hill ward (which they didn't even bother to contest earlier this year) and in doing so nearly helped the LibDems beat off a Tory challenge to the seat; but not quite.

A good result for Labour in Lancaster, 7.45% swing from Con to Lab.