Labour hold on in Conwy and Bedford

On Thursday there were a few by-elections around the country but not many seats changing hands. We previewed the contest in Conwy and Labour managed to hold the seat by 38 votes with a slight swing towards them. This has left the anti-Tory coalition in Conwy with a comfortable majority and Labour will be pleased with this result in an area of Wales where the Conservatives are making headway in Parliamentary and Assembly elections. Labour also successfully defended the Mostyn ward on the Llandudno Town Council.

Conwy County Council
CON		PC		IND		LAB		LD
20	-	14	-	14	-	7		4	-

 

Candidate	Votes	Vote %	+/-%
Jobl Hold (E)	348	40.7%	11.5
Garry Burchett	310	36.2%	9.5
Janet Jones	198	23.1%	-8.1

 

There was also a by-election in the Bedford Unitary Authority in which Labour were again the defending party. The Conservatives would have won the seat on a swing of just 0.8% however their vote collapsed and the result was an easy hold for Labour. Bedford Council remains very divided with the Liberal Democrats as the largest party with 13 of the 36 seats.

Bedford Borough Council
LD		CON		LAB		IND
13	-	9	-	7	-	7	-

 

Candidate	Votes	Vote %	+/-%
Shan Hunt (E)	715	52.2%	+9
Martin Quince	384	28%	-13.6
Ant Caprioli	272	19.8%	+4.7

 

Elsewhere, the Conservatives held onto Braintree South in a by-election for the Braintree District Council in Essex. They also gained a seat from an Independent on the Burton Latimer Town Council (Northamptonshire) but lost a seat to Labour on the Shrewsbury Town Council (Shropshire). The Liberal Democrats successfully held onto a couple of seats on the Chippenham Town Council (Wiltshire) and another on the Abingdon Town Council (Oxfordshire).

Labour should be quite pleased with last week's results. The two elections to top tier councils were held in areas of the country the Conservatives have been targeting in recent years. However, neither result has drastically altered the balance of power in either of the Council's. Whilst they are in opposition nationally Labour will increasingly be looking chalk up by-election victories and these two holds will be pleasing. They have a few more tricky seats to defend in the next couple of weeks though as the party will be looking to turn their improved poll ratings into tangible polling victories.