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Ralph Scott, centre, celebrates with fellow Lib Dems. From left: Mayor Jill Fraser, Kentish Town councillor Phillip Thompson, leader Keith Moffitt and former leader Cllr Flick Rea |
Lib Dems hail polls win as a vote of confidence
By-election victors warn they now aim to topple Labour MPs
LIBERAL Democrats have come through a major public opinion test of their first six months in charge at the Town Hall by winning the Kentish Town council by-election.
The party has now warned Labour rivals that they should fear for the parliamentary seats they hold in Camden.
The Lib Dems overturned Labour’s 15-vote lead to win the council seat by 281 – a wide margin given how closely fought the election appeared to be during the campaign.
It was an historic night for Labour for all the wrong reasons as it is the first time in more than four decades the party has no representation at all in Kentish Town, where the Lib Dems now hold all the council seats.
While Thursday’s by-election – triggered by the resignation of Labour’s Lucy Anderson – was a battle for just one seat, the Lib Dems are hailing victory as public approval of their first six months in charge at the Town Hall. The party wrested overall control from Labour in May with support from the Conservatives in a power pact.
Since then the council has announced a programme of cuts, unpopular in some quarters but not divisive enough to cost them the by-election.
Lib Dem winner Ralph Scott said: “I’m delighted with the result. It is testament to the good work the Lib Dems have done since May. It shows the level of support we have.”
His party mounted a highly-organised campaign which not only swept away Labour candidate Reverend Sam McBratney but also a strong challenge by the Green Party’s Sian Berry, who came second.
Some Lib Dem members were up at 4am on the day of the ballot dropping “Good morning” leaflets through letterboxes. Helpers were drafted in from neighbouring boroughs and beyond and MPs descended on the area in droves.
Cllr Scott said: “It is clear that Labour got routed. They were third. This is a message that people are happy with what the Lib Dems are doing. They are happy that the Lib Dems actually listen to people about what they want.
“If I was Labour, I would be worried about their two parliamentary seats.”
Labour members have muttered about the misfortune of having to face a by-election in a vulnerable ward so soon after losing overall control. Many insiders feel that, if the by-election had fallen six months later, the result might have been different and have cursed Ms Anderson’s decision to step down. She took up a job advising Mayor of London Ken Livingstone, which meant she could no longer be a councillor.
Mr McBratney, who also lost a council election for Labour in Islington earlier this year, said: “I’m disappointed – it’s nice to win. We only had six weeks to get the message out about the cuts. People haven’t felt the full effect of them yet. There were people picking up their redundancy notices on the day of the election.
“I’m confident that in 2010 we will win Kentish Town back for Labour.”
The Lib Dems had been wary of the threat from the Greens. Ms Berry appeared to be polling well and was boosted in the middle of the campaign by being made the party’s national principal speaker, effectively leader of the Green Party.
She said: “I still don’t see why people want to vote for the Lib Dems, especially as they are proposing so many cuts. What are people actually backing? It is really strange. It has to be their superior organisation and the number of people they have working on the campaign.”
She added: “I’m disappointed. I really want to be a councillor. I want to get my teeth into local issues but I will concentrate on being a good principal speaker. We were second this time. I think we will win in Kentish Town next time.”
Conservative candidate Richard Merrin vowed to be the first Tory to make an impact in Kentish Town but failed to scrape together even 200 votes.
How you voted
Ralph Scott (Lib Dem) 1093
Sian Berry (Green) 812
Samuel McBratney (Lab) 808
Richard Merrin (Con) 198 |
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