There were three principal council contests on Thursday 19th July and ALDC received a report of one Town Council by-election as well.
Our main story comes from just around the corner in the Warley ward of Calderdale, where one of our councillors stood down due to ill-health. Our candidate was James Baker, who had previously stood in May 2012 and lost by a thin margin of 113 votes. A Labour-facing ward on the outskirts of Halifax with a distinctive mix of housing from urban terraces and suburban semis, all the way to hillside farmhouses, the key to winning in Warley was always going to be squeezing the significant Tory vote. The campaign kept its message tight, with the 113-vote margin, James’ knowledge of the economy as the owner of a small printing business in the borough, and the Lib Dem track record of protecting libraries and Sure Start centres as the keystones of the campaign. Weeknight and weekend canvassing sessions were attended by nearby MP David Ward, Yorkshire and Humber MEP Rebecca Taylor, and a host of volunteers and activists from across the region. The campaign succeeded in ‘peaking’ the postal vote campaign at the right time, and won the postal vote – increasingly crucial in any contest. Canvass returns were mainly positive with a lot of new data and the Conservative squeeze message yielding good results. Doorstep and phone canvassing, and polling day, were run via Connect, which worked well. In the end, the margin of victory was 170 was a shot in the arm for the Calderdale group and a great victory for a hard-working candidate. Our congratulations to the entire Warley campaign team on a well-earned win!
Elsewhere, there were a pair of Conservative holds in two-horse races with the Labour Party. Breckland’s Queens was won by thirty-five votes, and Milford ward in New Forest was held by a slightly healthier 720 (or 80 per cent of the vote if you prefer). Anyone who wanted to vote Lib Dem in these elections was stranded – let’s hope our failure to put anyone up this time isn’t making our supporters in those parts comfortable voting for other parties…
The Hexham Town Council fight was a loss for us, as the Leazes ward went to the Tories. Commiserations to Ian Sotheran and the local Lib Dem team, who live to fight another day.
So, well done to Warley and hard luck, Hexham. There’s another by-election in Breckland scheduled for Thursday 26th July and this time with a Lib Dem candidate – so things are already looking up! The very best of luck to all of our councillors, candidates, and campaigners out in the field.
Craig Whittallcraig.whittall@aldc.org