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Labour’s Glenda Jackson is facing her toughest election since 1992 |
Glenda up for the fight as Lib Dems fall short
Ward-by-ward breakdown sets up two horse race but Lib Dems vow to bounce back
LABOUR MP Glenda Jackson is to stand at the next general election and has been boosted in her fight for survival by voters turning their backs on the Liberal Democrats in large swathes of her constituency.
A ward-by-ward breakdown of the London and mayoral elections reveal heavy losses for the Lib Dems in neighbourhoods forming the new Hampstead and Kilburn parliamentary seat. Wider results across the borough, released on Tuesday, were just as dismal, with the party in some areas slipping into fourth place, behind the Greens.
The Lib Dems have had high hopes of unseating Ms Jackson but, as rivals were quick to point out this week, supporters in familiar strongholds such as Fortune Green and West Hampstead cannot be relied upon to back them under any circumstance. When it came to the London elections two weeks ago, at least, large numbers looked elsewhere.
Ed Fordham, the Lib Dem candidate who is challenging Ms Jackson, said: “I’m not so quaint as to think it is that tribal. I’m relaxed about these results because I know people vote differently in different elections.”
The Lib Dems’ explanation relies on the claim that hype surrounding Ken Livingstone’s high-profile defeat to Boris Johnson unfairly skewed results against them, creating an inaccurate picture of senior councillors, including leader Keith Moffitt, suddenly at risk of losing safe seats. They claimed not to be too worried that if these had been Town Hall elections, a host of well-known names would have fallen short.
Cllr Moffitt said: “When it comes to council elections, people vote on the strong track record that we have locally.”
Lib Dem councillor John Bryant added: “The conditions which impact on individual seats in the general election will have more to do with key policies and less about an entertaining floppy-haired joker.”
Ms Jackson may have winced when she saw boundary changes to her constituency, which apparently shifted the territory in favour of the Lib Dems. It has also been suggested by some of her most unkind critics that she might be weary and lacking the stomach for what is likely to be her hardest election battle since she was elected in 1992. Her majority was slimmed down to 3,742 votes last time out.
But her aides said the 72-year-old is ready to defend her place in the Commons and is buoyed by Labour success in critical areas such as West Hampstead and Kilburn and results clarifying that around 9,000 more people backed Ken over Boris across Camden.
Mike Katz, chairman of Labour’s Hampstead branch, said: “She’s our candidate. Glenda had to go into hospital for an operation but she’s back – and these results show there is all to play for.”
Raj Chada, chairman of the Holborn branch, added: “The rest of London was a shame but they are pleasing results locally. It shows we are listening to and acting upon residents’ concerns. If they stopped taking champagne in the Town Hall, the Liberals might be worried.”
The Conservatives share power with the Lib Dems at the Town Hall but could not resist joining the taunts. Officially, cordial relations are intact and both sides say they are “mature enough” to keep the partnership afloat despite the testing election battles that lie ahead. The Conservatives have nonetheless already begun jockeying for position.
Stephen Hocking, chairman of the Hampstead and Kilburn Association, said: “The Lib Dems did not come first in a single ward.
“These figures show that Hampstead and Kilburn is a Tory-Labour marginal with the Lib Dems far behind.”
That said, Tory parliamentary candidate Chris Philp would also have lost his council seat if the results had been applied to the Town Hall.
Conservative leader Councillor Andrew Marshall said: “These are good results which show people are responding to what the Conservatives are saying. Hampstead and Kilburn has always been a target but we mustn’t get complacent.”
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