There were three principal local council by-elections held on Thursday 11th August. The Lib Dems and an Independent each gained one seat off the Tories and Labour held the third. In the two parish or town council by-election results reported to ALDC an Independent took a seat off the Tories, and the Lib Dems held one seat.In the Windsor and Maidenhead Unitary council ward of Eton and Castle – and yes it includes Eton College and Windsor castle – we took a seat off the Tories with a dramatic swing. Only a couple of months after the local elections there was a by-election – the Conservative councillor who won in May got a better offer and resigned.
So how did we do it? We did standard leaflet, target mailing, canvassing and election day campaign – as we did in the local elections in May.
We ran on very local but strong issues: anti-social behaviour, paving slabs and pot holes and parking.
We had a very strong candidate with a great credentials; 25 years a local resident , Teacher at Eton and governor at a local girls school, green and a known blogger.
We ran an internet campaign with
- an improved website – based on wordpress
- a strong email list campaign
- a facebook and twitter campaign.
– making sure that they were all integrated.
The absence of Eton’s sixth form voters and the low turnout from the grace and favour properties on the Windsor estate may, or may not have favoured us.
Other coverage has appeared in the local press and on the BBC website.
There seem to be a spate of Royal related byelections. There is a by-election next week for the ward in which Holyrood House falls in Edinburgh. It’s a SNP vacancy following a resignation. We currently hold one of the three seats in the ward.
In the London Borough of Islington we had a tougher time against Labour despite the resignation of the sitting Labour councillor after she had been charged with fraud. In the St Peters ward we retained second place but fell back.
Other Byelections