England local election results thread

[killer b]

the New Statesman was saying they need Derbyshire,Notts, Staffs and Lancs to have a godd night. They got Derby, have narrowly missed Lancs, so still touch and go for them - especially as Derby was the easiest of the four to win

they never really expected to take lancs - just spoke with my dad and they're very pleased with the result as it is. taking control was always a big ask.

he reckons the lib dems will side with the tories, the green likely with labour, leaving Driver in control (just) but everything hinging on the three indies, who we've been able to find very little out about. he's making some phone calls this afternoon...

 

[Dogsauce]

Is it all about resources? How much money does TUSC have, compared to UKIP? How many volunteers do they each have? I'd guess UKIP can afford some full time staff

They have a few working full-time at the BBC by the looks of things. Farage has his own parking space there.

 

[Delroy Booth]

What strategy? Standing candidates? Using them as a pole of attraction even though the only people who vote for them are already involved? There is no strategy.

The strategy as far as I can make it out is "build the profile of TUSC by standing in as many seats as possible, no matter how shit the results, to prepare for a Labour govt in 2015 and the disillusionment that will set when they start passing cuts" if anyone's got a more detailed summary of the strategy (SP people?) I'd love to know if there's owt beyond this.

 

[belboid]

they never really expected to take lancs - just spoke with my dad and they're very pleased with the result as it is. taking control was always a big ask.

he reckons the lib dems will side with the tories, the green likely with labour, leaving Driver in control (just) but everything hinging on the three indies, who we've been able to find very little out about. he's making some phone calls this afternoon...

no, they need 26 gains (from 84 seats) and made a mere 24. Which is pretty good going. Slightly sad (I think) to see they took one seat from the Idle Toad party.

 

[Wilson]

 

[Tom A]

In the short term hard work on bedroom tax and other sort of community based stuff, whilst using the organisation this provides to stop people getting booted out of their house, blocking baillifs or other small victories so that a viable fighting community exists. The rest of it is paste.

So what any decent leftie has been doing or trying to do, really?

 

[The39thStep]

Has anyone got details of the TUSC results? Stop laughing at the back.....

They have had to send out for more counting staff

 

[Tom A]

The strategy as far as I can make it out is "build the profile of TUSC by standing in as many seats as possible, no matter how shit the results, to prepare for a Labour govt in 2015 and the disillusionment that will set when they start passing cuts" if anyone's got a more detailed summary of the strategy (SP people?) I'd love to know if there's owt beyond this.

It seems not too dissimilar to what the Socialist Party were doing throughout the previous decade. I'll still vote for them when they stand in my area though.

 

[DotCommunist]

Looking like Corby Rural has been taken by the Orcs with the UKIP candidate an uncomfortably close second. Centre bit ward has yet to declare if I'm reading the mapr right

Orcs take half of n'pton as well, waiting on outcome for eastern district- the much poorer side of town.

 

[butchersapron]

So what any decent leftie has been doing or trying to do, really?

Without a pointless electoral vehicle taking priority and having to fulfill union demands in order to receive funding stapled to its back and the needs of these being paramount. Yeah, beyond that the answer is more of the same. You?

 

[butchersapron]

It seems not too dissimilar to what the Socialist Party were doing throughout the previous decade. I'll still vote for them when they stand in my area though.

What are the problems with this strategy?

 

[Tom A]

Without a pointless electoral vehicle taking priority and having to fulfill union demands in order to receive funding stapled to its back and the needs of these being paramount. Yeah, beyond that the answer is more of the same. You?

Pretty much what I've been doing in the past three years, mostly anti-cuts stuff, particularly opposing benefit cuts (particularly anti-ATOS demos) and the Bedroom Tax, all of which affect me personally anyway.

 

[butchersapron]

Pretty much what I've been doing in the past three years, mostly anti-cuts stuff, particularly opposing benefit cuts (particularly anti-ATOS demos) and the Bedroom Tax, all of which affect me personally anyway.

I wasn't asking what you were doing but what is to be done?

 

[Tom A]

What are the problems with this strategy?

Well in a nutshell, it doesn't work - which is indicated by the lack of councillors relative to, say, the Greens, or the far right for that matter. Also they only seem to be around during election time, and not really a party that does any other campaigning on non-electoral issues. Also I feel that TUSC and the SP tend have tunnel vision when it comes to visualising a working class beyond the unionised workplace.

 

[butchersapron]

Well in a nutshell, it doesn't work - which is indicated by the lack of councillors relative to, say, the Greens, or the far right for that matter. Also they only seem to be around during election time, and not really a party that does any other campaigning on non-electoral issues. Also I feel that TUSC and the SP tend have tunnel vision when it comes to visualising a working class beyond the unionised workplace.

Why hasn't it worked, that's what i was after.

 

[Tom A]

I wasn't asking what you were doing but what is to be done?

Thought you already answered that for yourself. Regardless any organisation, be it based on electoralism or otherwise, needs to engage positively with the working class grassroots, and be more than yet another organisation which is by activists, for activists, and confined to the activist ghetto.

 

[elbows]

They have enough resources to be doing a lot better than they are, put it that way. Probably not as much as UKIP but enough to do a lot better in target seats.

I couldn't care less if they get 8 votes in some Tory shire, I don't think they could care either, but if they're getting the same derisory votes in Rotherham and Manchester central then you've got to be asking serious questions about the strategy.

In addition to the seat where I live that I already posted about, here are some other Nuneaton & Bedworth results that maybe ought to be target areas for them, regardless of the wider Warwickshire picture:

Camp Hill
TUSC 67, Labour 709, Tory 201, BNP 100, Green 42

Abbey
TUSC 76 , Labour 995, Tory 291, Green 96, BNP 95

Arbury & Stockingford
TUSC 115, TUSC 110, Labour 2092, Labour 1832, Tory 868, Tory 856, BNP 386, Ind 256, Green 163

Bede
TUSC 17, Labour 1357, Tory 338, BNP 147, English Democrat 146, Green 58

Poplar
TUSC 26, Labour 955, Tory 282, BNP 164, Green 64

Bedworth West
TUSC 139, Labour 1219, Tory 569, Green 173

Bedworth North
TUSC 26, Labour 990, Tory 445, BNP 146, Green 85

 

[Delroy Booth]

Well in a nutshell, it doesn't work - which is indicated by the lack of councillors relative to, say, the Greens, or the far right for that matter. Also they only seem to be around during election time, and not really a party that does any other campaigning on non-electoral issues. Also I feel that TUSC and the SP tend have tunnel vision when it comes to visualising a working class beyond the unionised workplace.

In addition - The idea I think is a viable left party that can, if not win, then at least put up a fight and have a coherent electoral campaigning organisation ready, is one of the things they're trying to use to "peel away" the unions from the Labour party.

Which is a sound strategy, certainly shows more nous than the SWP at least, but for the fact private sector union density is 12% at the moment. Infact less coz that's a couple of years old that statistic.

Little bit of that "we've been booted out the Labour party, so let's entryist the Unions instead" mentality behind it. Hangover from the Militant days.

 

[butchersapron]

UKIP just about to break 100.

 

[Tom A]

Why hasn't it worked, that's what i was after.

My guess is that they never have a presence long enough to get people talking about them, the only time most people might hear of them is when they see them on the ballot paper, by which time they have probably decided to vote for the mainstream parties. That's assuming they bother to vote at all that is, an electoral vehicle should concentrate less on getting votes from Labour and more on getting votes from those not voting at all.

 

[elbows]

UKIP just about to break 100.

They've hit 108 on the BBC results. I've given up trying to work out how the table data compares to the map of who is left to declare and therefore my earlier attempts to estimate the final total.

 

[Streathamite]

It seems to just be basic extrapolation from vote share in these areas. Areas which, as you noted earlier, are heavily tory and rural.

it is, simple straight, crude like-for liking, and therefore not really much use

 

[chilango]

In addition - The idea I think is a viable left party that can, if not win, then at least put up a fight and have a coherent electoral campaigning organisation ready, is one of the things they're trying to use to "peel away" the unions from the Labour party.

Which is a sound strategy, certainly shows more nous than the SWP at least, but for the fact private sector union density is 12% at the moment. Infact less coz that's a couple of years old that statistic.

Little bit of that "we've been booted out the Labour party, so let's entryist the Unions instead" mentality behind it. Hangover from the Militant days.

I think a spell away from the Unions (or at least from union politicking) would do the Left a world of good.

 

[chilango]

...although UKIP have at least proved that shit name and logo are not a barrier to creating a successful electoral brand.

 

[Streathamite]

it is, and they've taken seats Lab were targetting like in Gt Yarmouth.

Labour seem to have done OK though, in Yarmouth Lynn, and Naarij?
(also, those are the only 'urban' places in a county consisting otherwise of small towns, villages, fields and rivers.)

 

[DotCommunist]

http://www.northamptonshire.gov.uk/election2013/DivisionResults.aspx?id=12

look at how the jaws of Corby rural encircle the town and the estates like a vast crab claw made out of right wing voters.

great boundry drawing there

 

[butchersapron]

...although UKIP have at least proved that shit name and logo are not a barrier to creating a successful electoral brand.

I think the tories and labour have to take their bows as well.

 

[Dogsauce]

Weren't the tories talking about the possibility of losing 'up to 500 seats'. Not going to be anything like that, is it? Classic 'expectations management' - though they'll find it hard to push the story of Labour not making necessary gains when all the story is of the Farage party.

 

[coley]

So what is to be done?

#527 sounds like a workable proposition

 

[elbows]

Sounds like Labour might have won control of Nottinghamshire by 1 seat, got info from that forum so wont take it as gospel quite yet.