Four Lib Dem by-election gains

After Tuesday's by-election result, Thursday brings another three council by-elections along with the two Parliamentary by-elections in Copeland and Stoke.

Continuing the Liberal Democrat pattern of polarising psephology, the distant and falling vote share in Tuesday's contest has been followed by two massive gains from the Conservatives. Either the Lib Dems are finishing way short of the winning post, or way beyond it. Just not close to it.

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Congratulations to Andrew Dutton and the team in a ward the party has not even contested the three previous times it has come up for election since being created (although the party has won in the area further ago in the past under different boundaries). This win makes for the first Lib Dem councillor on Kettering Council since 2003, and the first Lib Dem win in elections to that council since 1999.

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LD Bernadette Eckersley-Fallon 242 [53.8%]

Conservative 86 [19.2%]

Labour 63 [14.1%]

Independent 42 [9.2%]

Green 16 [0.4%]

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LD Elizabeth Huntley 473 [46.1%, +46.1%]

Conservative 404 [39.3%, -25.1%]

Labour 110 [10.7%, +10.7%]

Green 40 [3.9%, -15.6%]

[Independent 0 [0.0%, -16.2%]]

Turnout 46.5%

Lib Dem gain from Conservative

Percentage change from 2015

The Lib Dem winner here is Elizabeth Huntley, who has worked with David Attenborough on wildlife documentaries:

Elizabeth Huntley, Bigbury-on-Sea, lives with her husband and is a Bigbury Parish Councillor. She has a degree in English and trained as a school teacher.

However Elizabeth then pursued a career making wildlife documentaries working with David Attenborough and Tony Soper amongst others. She also ran a small hotel and restaurant in Bath for 30 years.

Elizabeth is part of the Bigbury Neighbourhood Plan team and is very aware of the unwanted developments in the ward - including Modbury, Kingston, Ringmore and St Anns Chapel.

If elected she will 'do everything I can to support our local communities fighting these schemes'. She will also 'oppose planned increased car parking charges which would damage the small independent shops and businesses in our market towns, especially Modbury'.

Elizabeth Huntley is the only candidate that lives in the Charterlands Ward. [South Hams Gazette]

Epping Forest DC, Chigwell Village - 23rd February 2017

No Lib Dem gain but a good vote share increase again.

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