Local Council Byelections 16/11/2006

[Mark Senior]

   Some interesting contests next week with Labour having good chances to make a gain from the Conservatives in the South and Conservatives trying to get someone onto Cambridge City Council .
    Cambridge City Council Trumpington LibDem seat May result LibDem 960 Con 752 Green 205 Lab 191 - candidates as May .
   Reading UA Tilehurst LibDem seat May result LibDem 1023 Con 757 Lab 550 Green 143 - Candidates as May plus Roman party whoever they are .
   Slough BC Langley St Mary's Ind Langley Res seat May result Con 742 Lab 733 Ind 423 Ind 121 - candidates Con Lab and Ind could go to either Con or Lab .
   Stroud DC Cainscross Labour seat - May result 2 seats Lab 733/607 Con 664/584 Green 375 LibDem 254/251 - candidates as May but surprisingly no Green
   Salisbury DC DowntonRedlynch Con seat - 2003 result 2 seats Con 893/692 Lab 823 Green 390/355 - candidates Con/Lab/No Desc   

[krautrock]

The "Roman Party" is listed in the Evening Post as:

'Jean-Louis Pascual, a bus driver who was born in France but has lived in this counrty for 11 years, explained the Roman Party referred to the phrase "When in Rome do as the Romans do".

He said: "This is all about people coming to this country and becoming part of the community.

"There are some people who come here and stay separate, living in groups and keeping to their own culture.

"It is fine to keep in your own culture in your home, but outside it you should not be separate."

Mr Pascual, 36, of Watlington Street, is standing for Reading Borough Council because he wants to be a "minister or president" in his own country.

He told the Evening Post: "I believe that if I get recognition in this country then I will be recognised in my own country.  It is difficult to come to power in France if you are not wealthy."

He said because he was single and without children and family here, he could not be corrupted.

He also suggests British jails should be moved abroad to Russia and the money saved should be spent on the NHS.

[gkr]

let's see if the Tories can gain from Labour in Stroud or whether they'll continue their pretty hopeless record in Labour seats.

[Darren C]

Do you mean as in hopeless last May gkr?

[Darren C]

Sounds like it has potential this Roman Party. The outsourcing prisons sounds interesting although family visits would not be easy to Russia. Maybe doing time in Siberia would be a good deterent and could ease our prisons crises.

[gkr]

I mean the fact that I don't think the Tories have gained a single seat from Labour since May!

[Darren C]

That is fair comment although it does depend what comes up. It also applies to Parlimantary By-Elections where the Conservatives have a poor record.

One could also say there isn't much 'low hanging fruit' left given how well the Conservatives have been doing in local elections over the last few years.

The Libdems are very good at by-elections but the Conservatives seem to find it harder for some reason. 

[Iain Lindley]

Interesting set of elections, five seats across the country, every single one a marginal.

[Huxley Mushroom]

'Jean-Louis Pascual, a bus driver who was born in France but has lived in this counrty for 11 years, explained the Roman Party referred to the phrase "When in Rome do as the Romans do".

I thought the phrase was, "When in Rome, do it the Appian Way!"

Reading Tilehurst looks pretty safe to me - or are the figures misleading?

[Iain Lindley]

I'd consider a majority of 250 in a ward that size a marginal in a by-election situation, especially with a sizeable Labour vote and a significant Green vote in third and fourth place respectively.

[Darren C]

The Stroud one looks interesting as no Green candidate this time and it was a sizeable vote. Where will they go? Probably Consevative and Libdem so I'll predict a Con gain.

[Iain Lindley]

It's that time of the week where the usual suspects gather on Vote 2006 hoping for news, whilst refreshing pb.com at the same time...

[Darren C]

Seems quiet out there tonight on the wires.

Do the people who are involved with these by-elections not realise that they are obligated to send word of the results to us here on this site?

[Kingston Dan]

   Some interesting contests next week with Labour having good chances to make a gain from the Conservatives in the South and Conservatives trying to get someone onto Cambridge City Council .
    Cambridge City Council Trumpington LibDem seat May result LibDem 960 Con 752 Green 205 Lab 191 - candidates as May .
   Reading UA Tilehurst LibDem seat May result LibDem 1023 Con 757 Lab 550 Green 143 - Candidates as May plus Roman party whoever they are .
   Slough BC Langley St Mary's Ind Langley Res seat May result Con 742 Lab 733 Ind 423 Ind 121 - candidates Con Lab and Ind could go to either Con or Lab .
   Stroud DC Cainscross Labour seat - May result 2 seats Lab 733/607 Con 664/584 Green 375 LibDem 254/251 - candidates as May but surprisingly no Green
   Salisbury DC DowntonRedlynch Con seat - 2003 result 2 seats Con 893/692 Lab 823 Green 390/355 - candidates Con/Lab/No Desc   

Nice to see Salisbury has been truly 'Denton-Whited'..

[Martyn Smith]

Cambridge, Trumpington

LibDem Andrew Blackhurst 858 (51.4%;+5.9%),
Con 618 (37.0%;+1.3%),
Lab 109 (6.5%;-2.6%),
Green 85 (5.1%;-4.6%)
Majority 240.
Turnout 30.9%.
No change.
Last fought 2006.