Lib Dems make gains from Labour in Hemel by-election

Liberal Democrats in Hemel are tonight celebrating a big gain in votes in Adeyfield West. Their candidate Steve Wilson saw the Lib Dem vote gain on a 10.95% swing from Labour. The result was a disaster for Labour whose vote has traditionally been strong in the area. While the Lib Dems went up 8.1% from 2007, Labour fell by 13.3%, and the Conservatives fell by 8.6%.

Steve Wilson said, "We have made huge strides in this part of Hemel which has been traditionally Labour. This result is a tribute to the campaign team across Adeyfield. I am very grateful to the people of Adeyfield who turned out in large numbers to support me."

Dr Richard Grayson, the parliamentary candidate for the Hemel Lib Dems said, "This result confirms that the Liberal Democrats are going from strength to strength in Hemel. People are turning to the Lib Dems as they desert Labour. This is a particularly worrying result for Labour as it comes in the seat where one of their mere two councillors in Hemel only narrowly won in 2007. They run a serious risk of having no councillors in Hemel when the seats are up for election again in 2011."

On the BNP's fourth place, Dr Grayson added, "Despite all their talk before the election, they did very poorly. They are not a factor in Hemel."

Result:

BNP 203 13.7%

Labour 429 29.0% -13.3%

Lib Dem 362 24.5% +8.1%

Con 486 32.8% -8.6%