Three Different By-Elections This Week - Three Different Stories
Lichfield DC, Curborough - 5th July 2018
Lab 309 [60.4%; +27.2%]
Con 169 [33.0%; -8.4%]
LD Lee Cadwallader-Allan 34 [6.6%; +6.6%]
UKIP 0 [[0.0%; -25.4%]]
Labour gain from Conservative
Percentage changes from 2015
Well done, Lib Dem candidate Lee Cadwallader-Allan standing for the first time. Labour beat the Tories, but notice where the votes came from. UKIP did not stand this time and it's clear that their votes went back to Labour - whence they had originally come from. Tells us something about Labour voters in Lichfield, I think.
Bath & North East Somerset UA, Kingsmead - 5th July 2018
LD Sue Craig 545 [41.1%; +10.0%]
Lab 326 [24.6%; +11.6%]
Con 282 [21.3%; -6.8%]
Grn 172 [13.0%; -9.5%]
UKIP 0 [[0.0%; -5.3%]]
Lib Dem gain from Conservative
Percentage changes from 2015
Clearly a very good result for the Lib Dems and congratulations to candidate Sue Craig for this gain from the Tories. In Kingsmead UKIP again failed to stand, but this time had little to offer the other parties, not having got many votes in 2015 in the first place. However, the Greens and the Tories both fell back and these votes plus the UKIP votes seem to have been divided almost equally between Labour and Lib Dems. The electoral arithmetic then delivered yet another by election gain by the Lib Dems.
Shropshire DC, Shifnal South and Cosford - 5th July 2018
Con 362 [38.3%; -18.9%]
Ind 210 [22.2%; -9.3%]
Ind 207 [21.9%; +21.9%]
LD Jolyon Hartin 167 [17.7%; +6.3%]
Conservative hold
Percentage changes from 2015
A brave attempt by Lib Dem Jolyon Hartin in a difficult situations. However with two independents standing and splitting the their votes - that's independents for you - the Tories held the seat despite a 19% drop in their vote share this time.