So our second set of Breckland By-elections is over! The torrential rain that dogged the Attleborough by-election was replaced by considerable sunshine and heat. I'm not sure what I dislike more, canvassing and leafletting in the rain, or doing so when you are sweating and hot & bothered.
I provided an analysis of the election last week, so I had best do so again this week.
I'll start with Harling & Heathlands Ward;
Let's start by making clear that this is a very solidly Conservative ward. The top placed Conservative last year got 928 with the second placed Conservative getting 875. The first placed candidate then, Lady Kay Fisher, was the one that resigned this time around - she had been a Councillor for many years, a former Cabinet member, a well known name and significant land owner locally, hence her stronger showing in the polls. The Labour candidate in 2011 was Stephen Green who polled a very respectable 403 votes, after a dormant period of limited opposition and very limited activity. That gap between the Conservative candidates and the Labour candidate in 2011 was the biggest out of all 54 Breckland Council seats. The Conservative vote for this two member ward was higher than it was for some Council wards where it is a 3 member ward and a greater number of voters available.
What happened this time around? The Conservatives polled 453 votes, which was a good result for them on an almost 20% less turnout. The Labour vote of 168 was disappointing, given the hard work, but we earned every one of those votes. The Lib Dem vote was fascinatingly high at 129 votes, given their relatively limited activity locally and unpopularity nationally and a UKIP showing of 184 was a very good result for them. I suspect the UKIP and Lib Dem candidates collected a lot of Labour votes as there were in effect three 'non-Conservative' candidates to choose from and therefore more choice so people spread their vote around. I suspect the Lib Dem effort was more about keeping their profile up locally prior to the County elections next May, when their candidate for H&H is likely to be the same candidate for the relevant County Ward. The Conservative share of the vote did fall by 21.1% with an overall vote share this time of 48.5%. I'm aware that the UKIP leaflet spoke of their opposition to car parking charges in Breckland, and I suspect the Lim Dem leaflet did as well, although I've not seen it, so again that anti car parking charge vote was spread around. I'm aware that many Conservative voters took the opportunity to express concerns to Conservative activists / Councillors about a variety of issues but still ultimately voted Blue. Our candidate Stephen Green was a very good candidate and I am sure he learnt a lot this time around and I hope that he will stand again in the future. The support of his wife Rainie, and friends & family members was lovely to see. We had a team of 11 out in Harling one evening, with 6 of them being under 28.
Mid Forest...
This is one of the most affluent (if not the most) statistically affluent wards in the whole of Breckland. Further, there has not been a district council contest in this ward for over a decade, and I was determined not to allow that to happen this time. I was delighted when one of our members who lives in the ward said he would like to put his name forward, with the primary intention of giving people locally a chance to vote and express their opinion - a very laudable aim. Our campaigning was limited, given our focus initially on Attleborough, and then Harling & Heathlands, but we did do the best we could, and a vote tally of 151 is a fantastic achievement - just 106 votes behind the Conservative candidate. It goes to show that Labour can field candidates in more rural areas and can get votes, with a stronger effort, Labour could win seats such as this.
Again, I was delighted with our candidate - Alex Vyse. At just 22, he is exactly the sort of person that I would like the Breckland Labour Group to be engaging. With a Business Economics degree under his belt as well, and the fact that he lives in the ward and grew up there would have helped his vote score. I am sure that Alex learned a lot, and he wasn't expecting to win, so I'm sure he was not too disappointed but will hopefully stand again as a Labour candidate in the future.
Conclusions....?
I won't say too much seeing as they are the opposition, but a brief word on the Conservative campaign; they worked hard. There is no denying that. They selected two strong candidates, and they got their voters out. They have considerably more resources than any of the other party's locally (combined!) and they put them to work, with visits from the MP, and one of their MEPs, and a large number of Conservative District Cllrs who were out and about leafletting and canvassing. Driving along from Garboldisham to Harling yesterday I spotted no less than 3 Breckland Cabinet members, 2 Executive supporters members and the 1 ex Tory Candidate that resigned, all out and about making sure Conservatives went to vote. The last thing that Conservative Councillors will want is for seats in Breckland to start slipping from Blue to Red.
However, as one person said to me yesterday; "You (Breckland Labour) have made politics in Breckland interesting again" - high praise indeed and our efforts have been noticed. We ran 3 strong campaigns, and I am delighted with all of them and look forward to the day when our efforts result in Labour wins.
Both successful candidates will be much better Councillors having worked hard across their respective wards, spoken to voters, and earned their support. Councillors that walk into seats, either uncontested or with little opposition too easily take things for granted and forget why they are there.
My two favourite moments of the campaign?
1. Leafletting the picturesque village of Oxborough, not sure if there is a single Labour voter at all. When suddenly our team were greeted by a man who rushed out of his house to introduce himself, reveal his emphatic support for Labour and explain how he used to be a good drinking buddy of Ken Livingstones in London in the 1970s.
2. When leafletting Harling, I came across a house that had proudly displayed every leaflet that they had received in their front window. They were clearly engaging in the democratic process and it was nice to see.
My least favourite?
Thankfully not too many disappointing aspects. As per usual I got so very frustrated when knocking on so many doors of people who simply do not care and will not vote. It's so disappointing. Particularly the guy that proclaimed "they're all w@nkers!" Did he really make an effort to scrutinise them and come to that conclusion? I really don't think so.
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