Council By-election Results

Last night's council by-election results:

Stevenage Bedwell Division, Hertfordshire County Council. Lab hold with a 0.8% swing from Con to Lab. Pin Green Ward, Stevenage BC. Lab hold with a 0.8% swing from Con to Lab (coincidence).

Well done to Stevenage Labour Party on these results which are fantastic given the national opinion poll context confirmed by YouGov today - and very heartening in a key parliamentary marginal. Proof for Labour activists in the run up to 1 May that hard work at a local level by ordinary grass-roots CLP members can mean you buck the national trend. The photo on the left shows a couple of hard-working local activists at the end of a long day on the stump on Tuesday, before attending a rally at Bedwell Community Centre in the evening. These two CLP members were joined by some local chap called Tony McNulty, but he was too shy to pose for a photo.

Redwell West Ward, Wellingborough BC. Con hold with a 17% swing from Con to BNP. Unfortunately the local Labour activists weren't quite as recognisable as those in Stevenage and this, combined with the fact that we ran an almost entirely negative campaign resulted in Labour being pushed into third place by the BNP, many of whose policies had been toned down to such an extent that they appeared to many voters to be to the political left of us. Hmmmph!