Comment on Medway Local Election 2011

Have just woken up after getting back home from the Count and am just getting round to the results both in Medway and nationally.

The full result can be found here and the ward result for Luton & Wayfield on this link.

Luton & Wayfield

Locally, I am obviously very pleased to have been elected by the good people of Luton & Wayfield. The area has significant challenges and is an area of social deprivation; over the last 6-12 months however, I have met a huge number of people who care for the community and its future. There are massive challenges but am keen to get on with it.

I do want to congratulate the Conservative team in the area. Luton & Wayfield had a Labour block vote in 2007 of 1400 which shrank to 1200. The Tory block vote and personal following for Tashi proved to be very significant, and I am sure there were moments in the evening, where he like me, felt it could have gone either way.

I spoke to many voters in Luton who were previously Labour who supported Tashi because of his work in the local Churches. Work that needs to be continued. Embedding ourselves in the community is of upmost importance.

Tashi and Gloria would be excellent candidates for any Party and I wish them well in the future.

It was also the first outing of the Liberal Democrat candidate Chris Sams (who blogs here). A candidate to watch for a future Gillingham seat perhaps

Medway

The overall result for Medway was mixed for Labour. Whilst we did gain seats from both Conservatives and Liberal Democrats we did not see the marked swings that were predicted on national polling.

This is consistent with the fact the Conservative block vote (sum 42% in Medway of the electorate) remained static. The AV vote, coupled with the lack of trust over the economy has damaged Labour and until this block vote can be dented we will not make gains, because our block vote is below the Conservatives. A dent in this block vote was expected but did not materialise.

The media and perception of Labour locally needs to change for it to become electable to the mainstream majority. A moderate and centrist agenda presented by a moderate and appealing candidate base. This election we had a good spectrum of candidates who were fully engaged in campaigning which does represent a solid footprint for the future, if indeed many choose to remain in the area, which is a risk with any younger candidate.

Despite the protestations by those on the left; if the Green Party or this TUSC band of lunatics, we would have been able to dent the Tory majority. This point is stressed every single time - if you split the left vote with fringe parties (and lets be frank they are not a realistic prospect of being in government, and even less so with no AV) then you open the field up to the right. Fact.

National

The national situation remains in flux.

In Scotland, the Lib Dem base has moved behind the SNP who have scored a landslide victory. The prospect of an independence vote now remains a real prospect. All the parties over-promised in the election so the SNP now has to deliver under the full guise of cuts from central government in London.

Wales was a very positive story though not sufficient for an absolute majority. Labour have regained a vote share of 42% which is a better performance than 1999. We can be pleased with that performance.

In the English locals, Labour have done well in the Northern Liberal/Labour Councils where the vote has moved wholesale to Labour (as we saw in Gillingham locally). The Tory vote share has largely held so the South remains very difficult with Tories performing well, and lets be candid, well, on a 2007 vote performance which was perceived to be a very high watermark. Gravesham was a Labour target and its gain will be welcome for Kent Labour. Medway Labour did better then many other areas, including Brighton, Thurrock and Dartford.