Liberal Democrats thrash Tories in the Blue Wall

[stockhausen]

Sarah Green of The Liberal Democrats have pulled off a stunning by-election victory, overturning a 16,000 majority to win by more than 8,000 votes in a seat that has always voted Conservative - a swing of 25%!

Is this a sign that if the Tories don't succeed with their fantasy "Levelling up" scheme we will eventually end up with a Lib Dem / Labour Government?

 

[robfosters]

No, latest polls show the Tories still have a 10 point lead over Labour and a 37 point lead over the Lib Dems. It's a bump in the road for the tories, but nothing more.

Her predecessor Cheryl Gillan was very opposed to HS2 as is Sarah Green, and this would have gone some way to winning votes, along with Green's opposition to the tories proposed planning laws.

I wouldn't take it as too much of a mood indicator for the rest of the country.

 

[Lysander]

Liberal Democrats, the most pointless party in British Politics. Unless you count tactical voting.

 

[chroniclard]

Liberal Democrats, the most pointless party in British Politics. Unless you count tactical voting.

Though the election system contributes to this as people see it as a wasted vote.

 

[Pipe & Slippers]

Is this a sign?

No

I think the more interesting bit of data is Labour polled 622 votes
Yes it's an affluent constituency etc. etc. but that level of support for Labour is breathtakingly low

 

[200sols]

I wonder what stunt Boris will try now to get himself back in the good press. He cant get married again, can he?

 

[Lysander]

He cant get married again, can he?

Actually...

 

[BowdonUK]

By elections are usually a chance for the opposition party to punish the governing party.

The most unusual aspect of this is that the voters preferred to vote for the Lib Dems instead of Labour.

 

[potatolord]

No

I think the more interesting bit of data is Labour polled 622 votes
Yes it's an affluent constituency etc. etc. but that level of support for Labour is breathtakingly low

Apparently, that's Labour's worst ever result. They lost their deposit, which I've never seen happen before.

 

[touch]

I think the more interesting bit of data is Labour polled 622 votes

This was quite surprising.
I even misread the article on BBC and thought Lib Dem had won with 8000 votes and it was a small constituency and still thought 600 votes for Labour was low. I read it again and realised the Lib Dem votes were 21,000 and Tory 13,000!.

 

[Greebo]

By elections are usually a chance for the opposition party to punish the governing party.

The most unusual aspect of this is that the voters preferred to vote for the Lib Dems instead of Labour.

If, like you say, you want to punish the governing party there would be little point in voting Labour when they were what, 16000 votes behind the conservatives in that seat in the last GE?

 

[stockhausen]

I wonder what stunt Boris will try now to get himself back in the good press. He cant get married again, can he?

Divorce . . . revelations about a "Love Child" . . . sacking Matt Kin'Useless?

 

[lookitsjonno]

Amazing how it's Labour's worst result in history yet it's the tories getting the tanking. They've dodged a bullet there, but how much longer can Labour bury their head in the sand, Hartlepool and now this.

 

[VincentHanna]

Amazing how it's Labour's worst result in history yet it's the tories getting the tanking

Ummm

Most likely because

A) It's never not been a conservative seat.
B) It's a rich middle class area and the few Labour voters in the area might have voted tactically for the lib dems.

Thread title is typical stockhausen though

 

[Uther]

622 votes lol.
RIP Labour.

 

[Tom_ed1987]

Sort of makes sense as there's lots of 30s/40s London commuters settled in the area who will be generally pro EU/Libdem. Surprising they won though.

Labour performance possibly worst ever?

 

[413x]

Labour are garbage. That's basically all there is.
Many in here have said it. Most think it. This shows it more than ever.

They couldn't do worse if they tried. That doesn't even sound ridiculous. We are a one party country

 

[rare]

It’s a single seat. It doesn’t signal anything. There were very specific considerations in that area, not least HS2 which has a big impact on the vote.

 

[inogen]

We are a one party country

Whilst this is true, most voters don't vote Tory. If a progressive alliance could sort itself out, the Tories would be dead within a generation.

The Greens did okay too, despite a load of them, like Labour voters, voting LD.

 

[stockhausen]

Sort of makes sense as there's lots of 30s/40s London commuters settled in the area who will be generally pro EU/Libdem. Surprising they won though.

Labour performance possibly worst ever?

Certainly not a seat in which one would expect Labour to do well - but doing that badly - really?

Keir Starmer doesn't appear to be helping