Whilst Ken Livingstone narrowly lost to Boris Johnson in the
Mayoral race on May 3rd, Labour won the vote across London in the two Assembly
ballots. In the south-west London
contest Lisa Homan increased the Labour vote by nearly 20,000 pushing the
Liberal Dems into third place for the first time since the London Assembly was
formed. This is remarkable as Hounslow
is joined with Tory/Lib Dem-dominated Kingston and Richmond boroughs.
Breaking the
figures down to the borough level. Labour beat the Tories by 14 point in
Hounslow borough, with almost 47% of the vote [see chart above]. The Lib Dems (7%) were beaten by the Greens
on 8%, whilst UKIP polled 5.5%. Based on
this result, Labour would be set to win Hounslow easily in the 2014 Council
elections. In a general election on the
new Parliamentary boundaries, Labour would also win Brentford and Isleworth,
by about 400 votes.
This analysis is
taken from the party (list) ballot, as it takes out any element of personal
vote, and excludes the very minor parties and independent candidates. The ward data only includes those voting at
polling stations - over a quarter of voters (16,400) voted by post and these
were counted borough-wide.
Across the whole borough, Labour performed strongly in all
the wards where we hold seats as well as Hounslow South and Feltham North where
all 6 Councillors are Tories [see table below for full figures]. In Hanworth Park there were 2 votes in it, and
in Osterley and Spring Grove Labour were just over 100 votes behind. Labour also won the postal vote by about 500.
These results provide the party with an excellent platform
from which to campaign to retain control of Hounslow in 2014, and to win
Brentford andIsleworth back in 2015.
However they are a simplification of what will be the real picture on the
day particularly in the wards in the Council elections. Lessons from across the UK on May 3rd
showed that good campaigns by local candidates win wards, and that no party,
even in “safe” seats can take their victory for granted.
Ward
(B&I shaded)
|
Labour
|
Conservative
|
L/D
|
Green
|
UKIP
|
TOTAL
|
Postal
votes
|
7344
|
5768
|
1240
|
1180
|
946
|
16478
|
Bedfont
|
752
|
583
|
127
|
101
|
172
|
1735
|
Brentford
|
1302
|
753
|
235
|
283
|
158
|
2731
|
Chiswick
Homefields
|
714
|
1403
|
242
|
338
|
95
|
2792
|
Chiswick
Riverside
|
741
|
1460
|
263
|
378
|
83
|
2925
|
Cranford
|
1288
|
320
|
70
|
72
|
42
|
1792
|
Feltham
North
|
697
|
521
|
91
|
89
|
135
|
1533
|
Feltham
West
|
893
|
589
|
130
|
113
|
200
|
1925
|
Hanworth
|
705
|
480
|
133
|
104
|
156
|
1578
|
Hanworth
Park
|
745
|
747
|
156
|
97
|
199
|
1944
|
Heston
Central
|
1113
|
421
|
101
|
105
|
76
|
1816
|
Heston
East
|
1227
|
442
|
90
|
109
|
72
|
1940
|
Heston
West
|
1518
|
369
|
83
|
100
|
90
|
2160
|
Hounslow
Central
|
1458
|
612
|
128
|
175
|
96
|
2469
|
Hounslow
Heath
|
1500
|
477
|
158
|
152
|
73
|
2360
|
Hounslow
South
|
1333
|
939
|
155
|
233
|
128
|
2788
|
Hounslow
West
|
1414
|
399
|
105
|
111
|
56
|
2085
|
Isleworth
|
1094
|
653
|
201
|
252
|
162
|
2362
|
Osterley
&Spring Gr
|
1021
|
1134
|
187
|
211
|
102
|
2655
|
Syon
|
1088
|
777
|
176
|
339
|
158
|
2538
|
Turnham
Green
|
713
|
1262
|
252
|
380
|
101
|
2708
|
TOTALS
|
28660
|
20109
|
4323
|
4922
|
3300
|
61314
|
Percentage
|
46.7
|
32.8
|
7
|
8
|
5.4
|
|
Although I share your view that Labour will win in 2014 I don't think it is wise to use the results of one type of election to draw conclusions about what will happen in a completely different type of election.
ReplyDeletePlease forgive me for citing the Community vote as an example. The ICG won more votes in a single ward at the local elections of 2002, 2006 and even 2010 than it did throughout the Brentford & Isleworth constituency - on a much higher turnout - at the general election of 2005. Voters clearly differentiated between local and national issues and decided the ICG was a more attractive prospect locally than nationally.
The only sensible comparison to be made from these figures is with the London Assembly elections held in 2008. They certainly show a significant Labour increase at the expense of the Liberal Democrats.
Psephology can be fun but it can also be dangerous when it strays into the realms of wishful thinking.
It's interesting that in May 2012 Labour only very narrowly defeated the Tories in Brentford & Isleworth (on the basis of the London Party List Vote). This is despite Labour having a substantial opinion poll lead.
ReplyDeleteWe can now see how remarkably well Ann Keen did by coming so close to holding the seat in the 2010 general election (when things were much less favourable for Labour).
In one of his recent blog entries, Phil Andrews had the decency to admit that the former MP comfortably out-performed her party's council candidates in at least one ward (Osterley & Spring Grove).
This should be a warning to any CLP activists who think B&I will automatically fall back into the Labour column with the Keen factor removed from the equation. The constituency will only be regained with a favourable national trend and a good local campaign.