By Jonathan Isaby
Here are the results of yesterday's local government by-elections.
Wheatley ward, Rochford
Con – 61% (-17)
Eng Dem – 21% (+21)
Lib Dem – 11% (-11)
Lab – 7% (+7)
Con hold
Worplesdon ward, Surrey
Con – 55% (+6)
Lib Dem – 38% (+3)
Lab – 4% (no change)
UKIP – 2% (-10)
Peace Party – 1% (+1)
Con hold
Pirbright ward, Guildford
Con – 65% (-1)
Lib Dem – 35% (+1)
Con hold
Great Marlow ward, Wycombe
Con – 53% (+19)
Ind – 30% (-12)
Lib Dem – 17% (no change)
Con hold
Riversway ward, Preston
Lab – 67% (+22)
Lib Dem – 29% (-6)
Green – 4% (+4)
(No Con candidate)
Lab gain from Lib Dem
Castle ward, Leicester
Lab – 38% (+8)
Green – 31% (no change)
Con – 20% (+4)
Lib Dem – 8% (-10)
Eng Dem – 2% (+2)
Ind – 1% (+1)
Liberal – 1% (-1)
Lab gain from Green
Bloxwich West ward, Walsall
Lab – 54% (+17)
Con – 38% (-6)
UKIP – 4% (-6)
Lib Dem – 3% (-3)
Green – 1% (+1)
Lab gain from Con
Corfe Mullen South ward, East Dorset
Lib Dem – 55% (-1)
Con – 41% (-3)
UKIP – 4% (+4)
Lib Dem hold
Diffwys and Maenofferen ward, Gwynedd
Llais Gwynedd – 51% (+2)
Plaid Cymru – 49% (+8)
Llais Gwynedd hold
UPDATE
Richard Cooper adds:
Also a town council election in the Knaresborough King James ward last in the Harrogate & Knaresborough constituency.
A Conservative gain from the Lib Dems with a swing of 25% (yes 25%!) from the result of the same ward on 6 May this year.
Full result on 15 July 2010
Con - 704
Lib Dem – 310
Ind – 216
Con Maj – 394
Result on 6 May 2010
Lib Dem – 1732
Con – 1216
Lib Dem maj – 516
On top of the 9.1% swing that we achieved to take the parliamentary seat from the Lib Dems on 6 May we are feeling pretty pleased. We took control of the Council that day too against the trend of local results on 6 May.
We've just learnt from Prof Colin Rawlings that the Lib Dem majority of around 8,000 at the General Election was numerically the biggest Lib Dem majority ever overturned at a General Election and was, I
believe, the second largest swing from Lib Dems to Cons (to Montgomeryshire) in the General Election.