LIB DEM COLLAPSE OPENS THE DOOR TO LABOUR IN SOMERSET

Jane Champion wins in Rotherham

Tonights by elections have seen the collapse of the Liberal Democrats. Coming 8th in the Rotherham By election, 4th in North Croydon and beaten into 3rd place by UKIP  in Middlesborough shows that the disastrous decision of Nick Clegg to enter a coalition as junior partners to the Tories and breaking all their promises on the way has left them high and dry as a party losing members, voters and any actual purpose.

The dangerous result of the Lib Dem collapse has meant an increasingly dissilusioned electorate turning to emotive right wing fringe parties such as UKIP and 'better the Devil you don't know' independents as was seen in recent Police Commissioner elections. The latter-totally unaccountable, unrepresentative and loose cannons are often a facade for anti-Labour fronts as has happened in the Bristol Mayor elections where Labour has rightly stayed clear of the so called 'rainbow' coalition of Tories and Liberals .

Andy McDonald wins in Middlesborough

In places like Somerset where there are elections next May it means Labour has to step up to the mark and fight in areas where it hasn't traditionally been successful  as the encumbent Lib Dems who had recently been voted in as 'the best way of keeping the tories out' will lose votes dramatically as that argument no longer holds. Labour needs to fight every County Council seat to prevent a massive Tory majority and fight to win!!


Rotherham
1st Labour 9,866
2nd UKIP 4,648
3rd BNP 1,804
4th Respect 1,778
5th Tory 1,157
6th Eng Dem 703
7th Ind 582
8th Lib Dem 451
9th  TUSC 281
10th Ind 51
11th EDL 29

Steve Reed wins in Croydon North

Middlesborough
1st Labour 10,201
2nd UKIP 1,990
3rd Lib Dem 1,672
4th Tory 1,063
5th Peace Party 1,060
6th BNP 328
7th TUSC 277
8th Ind 275

Croydon North
1st Labour 15,800
2nd Tory 4,137
3rd UKIP 1,400
4th Lib Dem 860
5th Greens 855
6th Respect  707