The main event on Thursday night was undoubtedly the delayed elections in Exeter and Norwich but there were still a few other Council vacancies to be filled around the country. Labour dominated the two City Council polls but they lost a seat in Middlesbrough to an Independent. In contrast, the Liberal Democrats were the big losers in Exeter and Norwich but performed much better in the regular by-elections, gaining a District Council seat from the Conservatives and a Town Council seat from Labour.
I'll start in Edinburgh though, where Labour were expected to hold the Liberton/Gilmerton ward on the Edinburgh City Council. The vacancy arose because the Labour Councillor, Ian Murray, won the Edinburgh South Parliamentary seat in May. In Scotland Councillors are elected by the STV voting system which essentially becomes AV when only one seat is up for grabs. Labour's candidate Bill Cook was easily ahead of his rivals on first preferences, securing almost 45% of the share. Despite this it took all 7 stages of reallocations before he was confirmed as the new Councillor, although he needed only 12 transfers from the third placed Conservative candidate to push him over the quota (and the SNP candidate couldn't win even if he received 100% of the Conservative's transfers!). The 9% increase in Labour's share of the first preferences is in keeping with their strong performance at the General Election in Scotland. Despite seeing their vote share drop 6% in Great Britain generally Labour managed a 2% increase north of the border. The SNP will have a battle on their hands to prevent Labour regaining power in Holyrood next May. The next full election for Edinburgh City Council is in 2012. Stage [Quota 3320] Candidate 1stP% 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Bill Cook (LAB) 44.8% 2974 2975 3007 3064 3121 3308 3527 Richard Lewis (SNP) 20.8% 1382 1387 1406 1445 1494 1698 1953 Stephanie Murray (CON) 15.4% 1020 1022 1033 1039 1055 1262 John Knox (LD) 10.9% 722 725 736 754 816 Peter McColl (GRN) 3% 201 212 225 244 Colin Fox (SSP) 2.5% 169 171 184 Mev Brown (IND) 1.9% 128 138 Philip Hunt (Pirate Party) 0.6% 43 No-Transfer - 9 45 93 153 371 1159 In Middlesbrough Labour were defending the Ayresome ward after Barbara Dunne had resigned for personal reasons. Dunne was elected in 2007 as an Independent in a very tight election. The top four candidates, two Labour and two Independents, were separated by just 8 votes. Dunne subsequently defected to Labour but her seat is now held by the other Independent who narrowly missed out 3 years ago. Cllr. Bill Hawthorne came fourth in the closely fought 2007 election but he will now represent Ayresome for at least the last 8 months of this term. Labour still hold a workable majority in Middlesbrough which they will defend in next May's full Council elections. In the other top-tier polls, the Conservatives easily held the Aspatria and Wharrels ward on the Cumbria County Council. The death of Cllr. Jim Buchanan had triggered the by-election which was easily won by the Tory candidate. The newly elected Councillor Mike Johnson's victory in this safe ward was made even easier but the absence of either a Labour or Liberal Democrat candidate. The Liberal Democrats made equally light work of holding the Newtown ward on the Poole Borough Council. The vacancy arose because the sitting Councillor had resigned to devote more time to the 'Buy British' campaign. Newly elected Cllr. Jo Clements will have to defend her seat in next May's full Council elections. In the one District Council by-election taking place this week the Liberal Democrats pulled off an excellent gain from the Conservatives in Fylde (Lancashire). Cllr. Karen Henshaw won the seat as she increased her party's vote by over 20%. Although the Conservative's vote also rose Henshaw appeared to benefit most from the absence of any Independent candidates. The Tories control Fylde with a small majority but the Council has a large group of Independents providing the opposition, as well as a number of non-aligned Councillors. This gain leaves the Liberal Democrats with three Councillors and the next full election will take place in 2011. Finally, Labour were defending two seats on the Spennymoor Town Council (Durham). They managed to hold one but the other was lost to the Lib Dems. Edinburgh City Council Middlesbrough Borough Council LD LAB SNP CON GRN LAB MIMA CON IND MIG LD GRN 17 - 15 - 12 - 11 - 3 - 27 -1 7 - 6 - 4 +1 2 - 1 - 1 - Candidate 1stP 1stP% +/-% Candidate Votes Vote % +/-% Bill Cook (E) 2974 44.8% +9.6 Bill Hawthorne (E) 456 48.4% +6.1 Richard Lewis 1382 20.8% -5.8 Stephen Cass 414 43.9% +1.3 Stephanie Murray 1020 15.4% +0.7 James Ruddock 73 7.7% -7.5 John Knox 722 10.9% -3.7 Peter McColl 201 3.0% -0.6 Colin Fox 169 2.5% +0.9 Mev Brown 128 1.9% -0.6 Philip Hunt 43 0.6% +0.6 Cumbria County Council Poole Borough Council CON LAB LD IND SOC CON LD IND 38 - 24 - 16 - 5 - 1 - 23 - 17 - 2 - Candidate Votes Vote % Candidate Votes Vote % +/-% Mike Johnson (E) 823 70.6% Jo Clements (E) 809 48.3% -7 Helen Graham 342 29.4% Tony Reeves 481 28.7% -3.8 Jason Sanderson 205 12.2% -0.1 Diana Butler 114 6.8% +6.8 William Kimmet 66 3.9% +3.9
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