MEME MONDAY #102

Slim pickings again last week, but a couple of memes broke the 1,000 share mark, so it wasn't a bad return.  We are already picking up going forward with as many new memes posted today than the whole of last week.  Karl is getting back in the game as his regular visits to the GP begin to lessen.

Tue 22 Sep - 92 shares

Thu 24 Sep - 1,261 shares

Fri 25 Sep -1,091 shares

Sun 27 Sep - 95 shares

Three Facebook Stories were published last week, all part of our Diversity Is Strength series...

COUNCIL BY-ELECTIONS 02.07.26

Twelve seats were up for grabs on Thursday - four Conservative defences, two each for Labour and the Lib Dems, one each for Plaid Cymru and a local independent group, plus two free-for-alls.

Labour only contested eight seats this week and the apparent bounce they enjoyed last week on the back of Starmer's resignation was muted at best.  They collected three wooden spoons, which included tallies of just 14 votes in the Cotswolds and 15 votes in mid-Wales.  Their vote share was mostly down, they lost a seat to Reform in Leicestershire and only just held them off for a narrow hold in Shropshire.

Peterhead South & Cruden, Aberdeenshire Council

(first preference votes)

SNP: 741 (36.5%) -10.0%

Ref: 465 (22.9%) New

Con: 431 (21.3%) -20.0%

Ind: 150 (7.4%) New

Ind: 132 (6.5%) New

LDm: 56 (2.8%) -9.4%

SFP: 54 (2.7%) New

SNP GAIN from Con (elected at stage 6)

Triggered by the death of the 65-year-old incumbent, who had been serving as an independent since leaving the Conservatives a year after he was elected in 2022.  The SNP topped the poll here in 2022 on first preferences, with the Conservatives elected in second place and taking up one of the three vacant seats.  Labour and the Greens remain absent from this ward, which helped the SNP to a relatively easy gain, despite a dip in vote share attributable to multiple newcomers in Reform, the Scottish Family Party and two independents.  One of the independents was ex-Tory MP Ross Thomson, who was briefly the member for Aberdeen South from 2017-19.  He couldn't even beat the other independent and finished fifth on first preferences.

Karl - Con HOLD ✘

Rich - SNP GAIN ✔

Horwich North, Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council

Ind: 1,186 (50.0%) +10.8%

Ref: 541 (22.8%) -2.8%

Lab: 343 (14.5%) +3.4%

Grn: 189 (8.0%) -4.1%

Con: 71 (3.0%) -2.3%

LDm: 27 (1.1%) -0.4%

Ind: 13 (0.5%) New

Ind HOLD

An easy defence for local independent group the Horwich and Blackrod First Independents.  The incumbent had been elected under that banner, but later left to serve as an independent independent.  He resigned from the council in May.

Karl - Ind HOLD ✔

Rich - Ind HOLD ✔

Weaver & Cuddington, Cheshire West and Chester Council

Ind: 1,365 (35.7%) New

Con: 974 (25.5%) +3.7%

Ref: 778 (20.3%) New

Lab: 564 (14.7%) -5.8%

LDm: 142 (3.7%) -11.9%

Ind GAIN from Con

Triggered by the resignation of the Tory incumbent due to 'a change in professional and personal circumstances'.  He was elected in 2023, having finished third and taking the third and final available seat.  Independent candidates have finished in first place here since 2019 and that remained the case on Thursday, with the Conservatives closing on them slightly, despite an impressive new entry from Reform.

Karl - Ind GAIN ✔

Rich - Ind GAIN ✔

St Michael's, Cotswold District Council

LDm: 344 (58.4%) -10.0%

Con: 112 (19.0%) -12.5%

Ref: 91 (15.4%) New

Grn: 27 (4.6%) New

Lab: 15 (2.5%) New

LDm HOLD

Three new entries took votes away from the only parties that contested this seat in 2023, but it was a routine hold for the Lib Dems nonetheless.  A change of career led to the resignation of their incumbent, who had a very impressive local government record dating back 15 years to when he was first elected at just 18 years of age.  He was the UK's youngest mayor and was also the council leader for six years.  He simultaneously stood down as a Gloucestershire county councillor, with that by-election also held on Thursday (see Cirencester Park below).

Karl - LDm HOLD ✔

Rich - LDm HOLD ✔

St Leonards & St Ives, Dorset Council

Con: 928 (37.9%) -25.0%

Ref: 823 (33.6%) New

LDm: 629 (25.7%) -11.4%

Grn: 68 (7.8%) +2.8%

Con HOLD

Triggered by the death of the incumbent, who was in his 80s.  He was elected in 2023 as one of two councillors in this ward, as the Conservatives defeated the only other candidates - two Lib Dems.  The victorious candidate this time was the deceased's elderly widow, who finished comfortably ahead of second placed Reform despite a significant swing to the newcomers.

Karl - Con HOLD ✔

Rich - LDm GAIN ✘

Cirencester Park, Gloucestershire County Council

LDm: 1,369 (58.7%) +6.6%

Con: 429 (18.4%) +2.9%

Ref: 366 (15.7%) -5.7%

Grn: 111 (4.8%0 -1.2%

Lab: 59 (2.5%) -2.6%

LDm HOLD

The incumbent was also a Cotswold district councillor (see St Michael's above) and resigned from both seats simultaneously.  He won this seat for the Lib Dems comfortably in 2025 and his successor held with an expanded share of the vote.  Another wooden spoon for Labour.

Karl - LDm HOLD ✔

Rich - LDm HOLD ✔

Lutterworth East, Harborough District Council

Ref: 403 (28.2%) +21.5%

Con: 386 (27.0%) +4.5%

Lab: 271 (19.0%) -13.4%

LDm: 270 (18.9%) -11.6%

Grn: 97 (6.8%) -0.9%

Ref GAIN from Lab

This contest was triggered by the death of the incumbent, aged 79, which had a huge impact on the council.  His passing meant that the Lib Dem-led rainbow coalition was no longer the largest group on the council and the Conservatives wasted no time in raising a motion to dislodge the council leader.  The Lib Dems had been leading a coalition of Labour, Green and one independent councillor as a minority administration.  With Labour losing this seat to Reform, the finely balanced numbers remain in the Tories' favour and they can continue with their own minority administration.  All three of the rainbow parties saw their vote share take a dip here, with Labour plummeting to third.

Karl - Ref GAIN ✔

Rich - LDm GAIN ✘

Glantwymyn, Powys County Council

Pld: 513 (81.8%) -18.2%

Ref: 63 (10.0%) New

Con: 28 (4.5%) New

LDm: 23 (3.7%) New

Pld HOLD

The first of three Powys by-elections triggered by the incumbents having been elected to the Senedd on May 7.  Plaid were elected to this rural ward unopposed in 2022 and it was a routine hold for them on Thursday, despite the presence of three new entries.

Karl - Pld HOLD ✔

Rich - Pld HOLD ✔

Llanyre with Nantmel, Powys County Council

Ref: 359 (41.6%) New

LDm: 226 (26.2%) -20.1%

Con: 210 (24.3%) New

Ind: 51 (5.9%) New

Grn: 18 (2.1%) New

Ref GAIN from Ind

A nice result for Reform in rural Wales, turning a defection into a gain.  The incumbent vacated the seat, having been elected to the Senedd for Reform - but how long she maintains that banner remains to be seen.  She was first elected to this ward in 2017 as a Conservative, before defecting to the Abolish the Welsh Assembly Party in 2020 and standing for that party in the 2021 Senedd election.  By the time she defended her council seat in 2022, she had left Abolish and was elected as an independent.  Her most recent realignment occurred last year when she joined Reform, for whom she now sits in the Senedd.  Her only opponents in the 2022 Powys election were the Lib Dems.

Karl - Ref GAIN ✔

Rich - LDm GAIN ✘

Yscir with Honddu Isaf & Llanddew, Powys County Council

LDm: 297 (39.7%) -1.1%

Ref: 259 (34.6%) New

Pld: 96 (12.8%) New

Con: 68 (9.1%) -50.2%

Grn: 15 (2.0%) New

Lab: 14 (1.9%) New

LDm GAIN from Con

Another vacancy arising from the incumbent being elected to the Senedd for Reform UK.  Elected as a Conservative councillor in 2022, he defected to Reform in 2025.  He won his council seat in a head-to-head with the Lib Dems, but the ballot paper was much more crowded on Thursday.  The Tories ended up slumping to fourth, while Reform went straight in at second and lost out by just 38 votes.

Karl - Ref GAIN ✘

Rich - LDm GAIN ✔

Malinslee & Dawley Bank, Telford and Wrekin Council

Lab: 590 (42.9%) -32.2% Ref: 569 (41.4%) New Con: 104 (7.6%) -10.3% Grn: 76 (5.5%) New LDm: 35 (2.5%) -4.4%

Lab HOLD

A narrow 21 vote hold for Labour as they saw their majority crumble with a colossal swing to Reform.  The incumbent Labour councillor has been the town's MP for the last two years, but unlike Scotland and Wales - where Holyrood and Senedd members are forced to relinquish council roles - there is no such mechanism for Westminster MPs.  He only stood down from the council following his recent appointment as a government whip, and even then only after being 'advised' to do so.  His wife continues to serve as a councillor for the same ward.

Karl - Ref GAIN ✘

Rich - Lab HOLD ✔

Llantarnam, Torfaen County Borough Council

Ref: 505 (42.7%) New Lab: 362 (30.6%) +3.4% Pld: 190 (16.1%) -1.6% Con: 58 (4.9%) New Grn: 49 (4.1%) -6.8%

LDm: 18 (1.5%) New

Ref GAIN from Ind

This week's fourth and final vacancy triggered by the election of the incumbent to the Senedd, again for Reform UK.  And again, the new MS was never elected as a Reform councillor.  The journeyman was initially elected in 2017 as an independent, joined the Conservatives a year later and then quit the party the following year.  He was elected as an independent again in a 2023 by-election, before joining Reform the following year.  Regardless of the incumbent's back and forth, Reform turned this contest into an impressive gain at the first time of asking.  No independents stood this time, while Labour selected a candidate who is barred from social work due to sexual misconduct.  Worrying that he finished a strong second.

Karl - Grn GAIN ✘

Rich - Ref GAIN ✔

Karl led Richey by three points going into week seven, having correctly predicted 29 results from the 54 seats contested since May 7.  Richey has managed to claw a point back, correctly predicting nine results against Karl's eight and moving back up above the 50 per cent accuracy mark.

COUNCIL BY-ELECTIONS 21.05.26

Four seats were up for grabs this week, the first council contests since Labour's drubbing on May 7.  The preview now takes on a little bit of a different format, with predictions given by Karl and Richey individually.  This is both a time saving exercise and also opens up a bit of competition, which after this round of by-elections favours Karl.  He predicted two out of four correctly, compared to Richey's paltry one.

Bridport, Dorset Council

LDm: 2,190 (43.6%) +8.2%

Ref: 1,164 (23.2%) New

Grn: 1,011 (20.1%) -11.9%

Con: 656 (13.1%) -4.0%

LDm HOLD

Dorset is run by a coalition of Lib Dems and Greens, and this contest looked set to be a showdown between the two parties.  The Greens selected their previous councillor for the seat, who lost to the Lib Dems in the 2024 local elections.  He was defeated a second time and pushed into third place by Reform.  The result wasn't even close, with the Lib Dems more than twice the amount of votes picked up by the Greens and over a thousand votes ahead of Reform.

Karl - LDm HOLD ✔

Rich - Grn GAIN ✘

Kirkham, Fylde Borough Council

Con: 1,185 (60.6%) +33.9%

Ref: 534 (27.3%) New

Lab: 129 (6.6%) -13.8%

LDm: 107 (5.5%) New

Con GAIN from Ind

This ward was very much into their independents, but there weren't any standing this time around.  The Tories usually finish distant runners-up here, but had to fend off newcomers in Reform and the Lib Dems to take the seat.  They did so with ease, polling more than twice the number of Reform votes.  Big fail for both of us here.

Karl - Ref GAIN ✘

Rich - Ref GAIN ✘

Castle, Lancaster City Council

Grn: 845 (70.0%) +4.9%

Lab: 190 (15.7%) -10.6%

Ref: 132 (10.9%) New

LDm: 41 (3.4%) n/c

Grn HOLD

The incumbent Green councillor had stood down after completing her studies at Lancaster University and moving away.  This was a solid left-wing affair, with the Conservatives not having bothered to even field a candidate this time.  Reform debuted nonetheless, but it was a routine hold for Zack's crazy gang.

Karl - Grn HOLD ✔

Rich - Grn HOLD ✔

Alfrick, Leigh & Rushwick, Malvern Hills District Council

LDm: 452 (25.8%) +10.6%

Con: 391 (22.3%) +3.2%

Ref: 340 (19.4%) New

Ind: 296 (16.9%) New

Grn: 190 (10.8%) New

Ind: 83 (4.7%) New

LDm GAIN from Ind

Another free-for-all, following the resignation of the incumbent Malvern Hills Independent.  His group did not contest this time, although there were two unaligned independents standing.  The Tories usually finish a distant second here and were up against newcomers Reform and the Greens.  The Lib Dems took advantage of a split in the conservative vote and surged through the middle to keep the Tories in second.

Karl - Ind GAIN ✘

Rich - Ref GAIN ✘

COUNCIL BY-ELECTIONS 11.09.25

Six by-elections were held on Thursday, half of which were Labour defences.  In a humiliating night, Labour lost all three to Reform in spectacular fashion.  Labour slipped to third in Bedfordshire, while they crashed to fourth in both Suffolk and Glamorgan.  Another gain for Reform bodes well for their Senedd hopes next year.

It was a mixed night for the Tories as they lost two seats - one to the Lib Dems and one to Reform - but picked up a gain from a residents' group in Cheshire.

Talbot & Branksome Woods, Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council

LDm: 910 (32.4%) -2.1%

Ref: 791 (28.2%) New

Con: 770 (27.4%) -4.9%

Lab: 170 (6.1%) -5.7%

Grn: 165 (5.9%) -6.6%

LDm GAIN from Con

Stotfold, Central Bedfordshire Council

Ref: 823 (30.8%) New

Con: 559 (20.9%) +1.3%

Lab: 532 (19.9%) -4.2%

Grn: 416 (15.6%) New

LDm: 339 (12.7%) +0.2%

Ref GAIN from Lab

Wilmslow Lacey Green, Cheshire East Council

Con:370 (29.8%) -8.4%

Lab: 300 (24.2%) New

Ref: 288 (23.2%) New

Ind: 215 (17.3%) -30.2%

Grn: 67 (5.4%) New

Con GAIN from Ind

Illtyd, Vale of Glamorgan Council

Ref: 729 (31.3%) New

Pld: 657 (28.2%) +10.1%

Con: 445 (19.1%) -10.2%

Lab: 414 (17.8%) -22.7%

Grn: 85 (3.6%) -8.6%

Ref GAIN from Lab

Pelsall, Walsall Council

Ref: 1,231 (45.0%) +31.3%

Con: 1,176 (43.1%) -24.1%

Grn: 127 (4.7%) New

Lab: 125 (4.6%) -14.5%

LDm: 72 (2.7%) New

Ref GAIN from Con

Newmarket East, West Suffolk Council

Ref: 343 (29.7%) New

Con: 288 (25.0%) +4.1%

LDm: 199 (17.2%) -3.1%

Lab: 176 (15.3%) -8.3%

Grn: 148 (12.8%) New

Ref GAIN from Lab

Abbreviations

LDm = Liberal Democrat

Ref = Reform UK

Con = Conservative

Lab = Labour

Grn = Green

Pld = Plaid Cymru

Ind = Independents and residents' groups

COUNCIL BY-ELECTIONS 24.07.25

Seven seats were up for grabs this week, with Labour defending just the one (Cardiff), which they held despite losing more than a fifth of their vote.  Reform are the new challengers in that ward, surging into second place from scratch.

The Labour vote was down in all six of the seats the party contested and they finished a humiliating last place in two of them.

Reform gained a seat from the Tories in South London, but the Conservatives faired better elsewhere.  They managed to hold off challenges from Reform newcomers in three seats, while they nominally gained a seat from the Greens in Rutland.  The Greens failed to field a candidate in the latter, providing a free-for-all for the remaining parties.

Bromley Common & Holwood, Bromley London Borough Council

Ref: 1,342 (34.0%) New

Con: 1,161 (29.4%) -11.8%

Lab: 720 (18.2%) -10.4%

LDm: 540 (13.7%) -2.2%

Grn: 185 (4.7%) -9.7%

Ref GAIN from Con

Llanrumney, Cardiff Council

Lab: 755 (39.4%) -20.5%

Ref: 630 (32.9%) New

LDm: 281 (14.7%) +9.3%

Pld: 138 (7.2%) New

Con: 64 (3.3%) -14.2%

Grn: 47 (2.5%) New

Lab HOLD

Berkhamsted West, Dacorum Borough Council

LDm: 643 (56.4%) -2.0%

Con: 357 (31.3%) -8.5%

Grn: 99 (8.7%) -0.4%

Lab: 41 (3.6%) -6.1%

LDm HOLD

Swanage, Dorset Council

Con: 1,254 (35.4%) -0.4%

Ref: 748 (20.8%) New

LDm: 737 (20.8%) +12.8%

Ind: 415 (11.7%) -7.7%

Lab: 400 (11.3%) -19.4%

Con HOLD

Borehamwood Brookmeadow, Hertsmere Borough Council

Con: 478 (29.6%) -18.7%

Ref: 394 (24.4%) New

Ind: 339 (21.0%) New

Lab: 295 (18.3%) -33.5%

LDm: 47 (2.9%) New

Grn: 37 (2.3%) New

Ind: 26 (1.6%) New

Con HOLD

Alrewas & Fradley, Lichfield District Council

Con: 690 (42.4%) -1.1%

Ref: 439 (27.0%) New

Lab: 314 (19.3%) -17.9%

LDm: 185 (11.4%) -7.9%

Con HOLD

Barleythorpe, Rutland County Council

Con: 209 (35.9%) +10.3%

LDm: 136 (23.4%) New

Ref: 123 (21.1%) New

Ind: 114 (19.6%) New

Con GAIN from Grn

Abbreviation

Ref = Reform UK

Con = Conservative

Lab = Labour

LDm = Liberal Democrat

Grn = Green

Pld = Plaid Cymru

Ind = Independents

COUNCIL BY-ELECTIONS 24.10.24

A total of 13 seats were available in this week's round of by-elections, with Labour defending six of them.  It was yet another grim set of results for them, with three of those seats lost to the Conservatives.  Labour finished last in two contests, while the vote share was also down in all 11 of the seats it contested - including some huge margins.  It was down 31.4 per cent in Calderdale, 26.3 per cent in South Ribble and 30.2 per cent in Surrey Heath.

Muscliff & Strouden Park - Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council

Con: 1,008 (42.3%) +16.4%

Lab: 424 (17.8%) -3.0%

Ind: 406 (17.0%) New

Ind: 188 (7.9%) New

LDm: 174 (7.3%) +1.9%

Ind: 100 (4.2%) New

Grn: 84 (3.5%) New

Con GAIN from Ind

Calder - Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council

Lab: 1,009 (36.3%) -31.4%

Grn: 784 (28.2%) +13.8%

LDm: 410 (14.6%) +9.6%

Ind: 316 (11.4%) New

Con: 251 (9.0%) -3.9%

SDP: 12 (0.4%) New

Lab HOLD

Northgate & West Green - Crawley Borough Council

Lab: 704 (38.5%) -15.0%

Con: 492 (26.9%) -2.0%

Ref: 292 (16.0%) New

Grn: 174 (9.5%) -3.0%

WPB: 133 (7.3%) New

TUS: 35 (1.9%) -3.2%

Lab HOLD

Prestatyn North - Denbighshire County Council

Con: 295 (25.9%) +0.1%

Ind: 221 (19.4%) New

Ref: 218 (19.2%) New

Lab: 212 (18.6%) -18.7%

Plaid: 169 (14.9%) -4.4%

LDm: 33 (2.0%) New

Con GAIN from Lab

Croft - East Lindsey District Council

Con: 198 (46.5%)

Ind: 79 (18.5%)

LDm: 75 (17.6%)

Ind: 48 (11.3%)

Grn: 21 (4.9%)

Lab: 5 (1.2%)

Con HOLD (previously elected unopposed)

Whickham North - Gateshead Borough Council

LDm: 902 (64.6%) +6.7%

Lab: 285 (20.4%) -6.3%

Con: 137 (9.8%) +0.9%

Grn: 72 (5.2%) -1.3%

LDm HOLD

Talybolion - Isle of Anglesey County Council

Ind: 678 (51.6%) +24.6%

Plaid: 518 (39.4%) -9.6%

Con: 72 (5.5%) -14.5%

Grn: 46 (3.5%) +0.5%

Ind GAIN from Plaid

Hemlington - Middlesbrough Borough Council

Lab: 422 (53.1%) -10.2%

Con: 251 (31.6%) +16.0%

Ind: 55 (6.9%) New

WPB: 47 (5.9%) New

LDm: 20 (2.5%) New

Lab HOLD

Town - Monmouthshire County Council

Con: 350 (58.9%) +29.9%

Lab: 184 (31.0%) -15.3%

LDm: 41 (6.9%) -1.6%

Grn: 19 (3.2%) New

Con GAIN from Lab

Barton & Becton - New Forest District Council

Con: 671 (57.1%) -0.9%

LDm: 505 (42.9%) +18.9%

Con HOLD

Histon & Impington - South Cambridgeshire District Council

LDm: 942 (38.7%) -2.3%

Ind: 617 (25.3%) +4.1%

Grn: 420 (17.3%) +5.8%

Con: 283 (11.6%) -0.1%

Lab: 172 (7.1%) -7.4%

LDm HOLD

Middleforth - South Ribble Borough Council

Con: 517 (46.3%) +21.7%

Lab: 362 (32.4%) -26.3%

LDm: 173 (15.5%) -0.9%

Grn: 64 (5.7%) New

Con GAIN from Lab

Old Dean - Surrey Heath Borough Council

LDm: 394 (44.7%) New

Con: 278 (31.6%) -27.3%

Ref: 109 (12.4%) New

Lab: 96 (10.9%) -30.2%

Ind: 4 (0.5%) New

LDm GAIN from Con

Abbreviations

Con = Conservative

Lab = Labour

LDm = Liberal Democrat

Grn = Green

SDP = Social Democratic Party

Ref = Reform UK

WPB = Workers Party of Britain

TUS = Trade Unionist & Socialist Coalition

Plaid = Plaid Cymru

Ind = Independents and local groups

COUNCIL BY-ELECTIONS 06.10.22

Six council by-elections to report this week, with Labour and the Conservatives defending two each.  It was a routine hold for Labour in inner city Birmingham, but they lost to Plaid Cymru in Ceredigion.  Labour had previously been elected to the latter unopposed, but slipped to third place when presented with Plaid and Lib Dem opposition.

It was another week to forget for the Tories, losing a seat to Labour in Shropshire and clinging on to another, in Somerset, by just four votes.  Labour had stood aside in the latter, allowing the Lib Dems a clear run.

In other action the Lib Dems held a seat in Eastbourne and an independent group held firm in Dorset.

Sparkbrook & Balsall Heath East, Birmingham City Council

Lab: 2,410 (69.6%) +2.0%

LDem: 517 (14.9%) +10.6%

Con: 305 (8.8%) -14.6%

WPB: 158 (4.6%) New

Grn: 72 (2.1%) -1.6%

Lab HOLD

Highcliffe & Walkford, BCP Council (Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole)

Ind: 1,778 (62.0%) +13.0%

LDem: 571 (19.9%) +9.5%

Con: 358 (12.5%) -20.1%

Lab: 163 (5.7%) -2.4%

Ind HOLD

Lampeter, Ceredigion County Council

Plaid: 291 (39.5%)

LDem: 268 (36.4%)

Lab: 160 (21.7%)

Ind: 18 (2.4%)

Plaid GAIN from Lab (Lab previously elected unopposed)

St Anthony's, Eastbourne Borough Council

LDem: 972 (49.6%) -2.9%

Con: 513 (26.2%) +8.3%

Grn: 420 (21.4%) New

UKIP: 55 (2.8%) -7.5%

LDem HOLD

Butleigh & Baltonsborough, Mendip District Council

Con: 393 (50.3%) -2.3%

LDem: 389 (49.7%) +16.5%

Con HOLD

Bridgnorth West & Talsey, Shropshire Council

Lab: 887 (55.9%) +6.0%

Con: 480 (30.2%) -4.5%

LDem: 176 (11.1%) -1.6%

Grn: 45 (2.8%) +0.2%

Lab GAIN from Con

Abbreviations

Lab = Labour

LDem = Liberal Democrat

Con = Conservative

WPB = Workers Party of Britain

Grn = Green

Plaid = Plaid Cymru

UKIP = United Kingdom Independence Party

Ind = Independents

COUNCIL BY-ELECTIONS 07.04.22

There were nine by-elections on Thursday and it was a very mixed bag with all but four of those seats changing hands.

The Conservatives were defending three seats - one each in Dorset, East Yorkshire and West Sussex.  They lost all three seats - two to the Greens and one to the Lib Dems.  The Green success in Horsham was particularly stunning as they were newcomers to the poll, but were undoubtedly assisted by the absence of a Labour candidate this time.

There was better news for the Tories in Derbyshire where they gained a seat from Labour and tipped High Peak Borough Council into No Overall Control.

Labour were the only party to hold any seats on Thursday, successfully defending all four.  However, there was a significant reduction in their vote in two Liverpool seats.

The remaining seat was an open contest in Devon, caused by a retiring independent.  The Lib Dems mopped up there.

Absentees this week were UKIP in East Yorkshire and Telford, Labour in Horsham, the Liberal Party in Warbreck (Liverpool) and Mid-Devon.  Independents were absent from Mid-Devon and Wolverhampton.

Lyme & Charmouth, Dorset Council

Grn: 594 (43.8%) +27.0%

Con: 359 (26.5%) -13.7%

Ind: 320 (23.6%) -6.7%

Lab: 82 (6.1%) -6.6%

Grn GAIN from Con

South Hunsley, East Riding of Yorkshire Council

LDem: 1,351 (54.7%) +41.1%

Con: 907 (36.8%) -28.5%

Lab: 110 (4.5%) -6.8%

Grn: 100 (4.1%) New

LDem GAIN from Con

Cote Heath, High Peak Borough Council

Con: 585 (55.5%) +5.4%

Lab: 413 (39.2%) -10.7%

Grn: 56 (5.3%) New

Con GAIN from Lab

Storrington & Washington, Horsham District Council

Grn: 1,281 (47.9%) New

Con: 943 (35.2%) -16.1%

LDem: 453 (16.9%) -13.5%

Grn GAIN from Con

Everton, Liverpool City Council

Lab: 925 (62.0%) -24.6%

Grn: 362 (24.2%) +20.5%

Lib: 84 (5.6%) +3.4%

Con: 51 (3.4%) -1.7%

TUSC: 46 (3.1%) +3.1%

LDem: 25 (1.7%) -0.6%

Lab HOLD

Warbreck, Liverpool City Council

Lab: 912 (48.2%) -31.8%

LDem: 874 (46.2%) +38.3%

Grn: 61 (3.2%) -1.1%

Con: 46 (2.4%) -4.1%

Lab HOLD

Cullompton South, Mid Devon District Council

LDem: 318 (47.9%) +26.2%

Con: 279 (42.0%) +9.3%

Lab: 67 (10.1%) New

LDem GAIN from Ind

Brookside, Telford and Wrekin Council

Lab: 531 (58.8%) +20.0%

Con: 318 (35.2%) +11.8%

LDem: 54 (6.0%) -11.6%

Lab HOLD

East Park, Wolverhampton City Council

Lab: 783 (65.5%) +6.2%

Con: 412 (34.5%) +17.0%

Lab HOLD

Abbreviations

Grn = Green

Con = Conservative

Lab = Labour

LDem = Liberal Democrat

Lib = Liberal

TUSC = Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition

Ind = Independents

CANDIDATE FLIPS THE BIRD

A Labour candidate has given the BBC's John Ware the finger in a petulant selfie on Twitter.  Ware is suing Jeremy Corbyn over the Panorama documentary on Labour whistleblowers.

Corbyn fanatic Corrie Drew stood for the party in Bournemouth East in December, finishing second.  She was so desperate to get elected that she set up crowdfunding pages to pay her bills and living costs so she could devote all her time to campaigning.  More recently she has been campaigning to have the statue of Baden-Powell removed from Poole seafront.  She has enthusiastically embraced Black Lives Matter and tweeted last month that white people should either support BLM or shut up.

Drew's finger gesture was retweeted and condemned by a number of Corbyn critics including former Labour MP Ian Austin.  The resulting attention led to Drew locking down her Twitter account.  It appears that she can give it, but she cannae take it.

Drew with her hero

Bournemouth East 2019 general election

Tobias Ellwood (Con) 24,926 (50.6%) -1.3%

Corrie Drew (Lab) 16,120 (32.7%) -2.9%

Philip Dunn (L Dem) 5,418 (11.0%) +4.5%

Alasdair Keddie (Green) 2,049 (4.2%) +1.6%

Ben Aston (Ind) 447 (0.9%) New

Emma Johnson (Ind) 314 (0.6%) New

NEC CHIEF PROMOTES FAKE CONSPIRACY

Labour's Andi Fox

The chair of Labour's governing National Executive Committee has shared a baseless Covid-19 conspiracy theory on Twitter.  Corbyn loyalist Andi Fox shared a tweet earlier this week that suggested the Prime Minister was not really suffering from coronavirus.  Fox is arguably the most powerful elected Labour official with the exception of Keir Starmer himself.  After the tweet was brought to the attention of the national media she locked down her Twitter account.  Below is a screen capture of the tweet taken before she made her account private.

The Independent quotes 'sources close to Fox' as saying she had retweeted this by 'accident'.  It's a lame excuse and one we've heard so many times before.  In actual fact the Boris conspiracy theory is quite popular on the loony left.  Only last week a Labour councillor in Leeds was forced to apologise after calling the PM's hospitalisation a 'publicity stunt'.  So what about the source of the claims in Fox's tweet?  All is not as it seems.

The original author of the tweet - Neil Waugh - describes himself as a 'left-wing socialist' and his priority in life appears to be the Palestinian cause.  He is followed on Twitter by hard left Labour MP Richard Burgon.  In the Boris conspiracy tweet he refers to the 'Dorset Eye' so nonchalantly as if to confer some kind of legitimacy.  However, the Dorset Eye is far from a reputable local news outlet.  It's a blog run by a couple called the Cridlands and it has a proven left-wing agenda.  This agenda includes defending Corbynistas from accusations of anti-Semitism.

Jason Cridland's Facebook account shows that he not only follows dozens of Labour pages, but also Marxist groups and anti-Tory pages too.  They include the following:

Terrible Tories

Anti Tory Memes

Tory Britain Exposed

Never Trust A Tory

FucktheTories

Boycott Tory Newspapers Now

Conservatives Are Destroying Our Future

The Tories Are Killing Britain

I Hate The Tories

Bournemouth Labour Women

South Dorset Young Labour

Dorset Socialists

Socialist Alternative London

Coventry Socialist Alternative

Coventry Labour Left

Kent Class War

The Marxist-Leninist

Marxist Student Federation

Momentum South West

United 4 Corbyn

He also follows a page called 'Labour Against The Witchhunt', an organisation that defends Labour activists accused of anti-Semitism, including those now expelled from the party such as Marc Wadsworth, Jackie Walker and Chris Williamson.  There is clearly nothing impartial about the Cridlands and their 'independent news media'.

Finally, and we've saved the best until last.  The conspiracy propagated by their website - tweeted so matter of factly by Neil Waugh and then retweeted by Andi Fox - has no basis in fact.  The Cridlands have now admitted that the names of the doctors were 'made up' and the article itself may well have been intended as 'satire'.  This was the statement they posted to the original article, which at the time of writing is still there and floating around the Twittersphere:

"We realise now that this article may well be satire.  The names have simply been made up.

Either way the point is that we have a PM who is perceived by millions as a liar and a government who have handled the Covid-19 crisis in a chaotic and often criminal way.

We do however apologise to those who may initially have believed that this article was 100% factual (without satirical substance)".

Not the best advert for a 'news site' is it?  And certainly not the sort of nonsense the chair of Labour's NEC should be spreading either.

Debbie and Jason Cridland, founders of the far left Dorset Eye