Labour have taken seats from the Conservatives after a by-election in Lichfield.
Colin Ball took victory in both the Lichfield City Council and Lichfield District Council votes in the Curborough ward.
The result sees Labour secure a seat held by the Conservatives until the death of Cllr Jeanette Allsopp earlier this year.
Last time the ward was contested – in 2015 – the Tories won both seats with 790 and 795 votes; well clear of the 637 achieved by the nearest Labour candidate.
But the collapse of the Friarsgate development has heaped pressure on the controlling Conservative group locally and they look to have paid the price at the polls.
Lichfield District Council result (turnout 15.6%):
- Colin Ball (Labour) – 309
- Lee Cadwallader-Allan (Lib Dem) – 34
- Jayne Marks (Cons) – 169
Lichfield City Council result (turnout 15.5%):
- Colin Ball (Lab) – 323
- Paul Jones (Cons) – 160
- Richard Rathbone (Lib Dem) – 26
Great result, but what an utterly pathetic turnout. Did 85% of the people in Curborough not realise there was a by-election or simply that they couldn’t be bothered.
To be honest I didn’t know there was a election on. and did not see any canvassing or posters about it. I volunteer at a mental health hub in Lichfield and there was no posters or anything about it on the community notice board.
Well done Colin and well done to all those Labour members and supporters who worked so hard to inform the public of the realities of the Tory stronghold and making it clear that there is a better alternative. Wilcox and his team have turned Lichfield District Council into a laughing stock over the last few years.
It would appear the tide is turning.
It is almost painful that so few people voted in these elections. The LDC have more influence on our daily lives than practically any other organisation. Why would you not want to have a say on who represents you on matters affecting everything in your area? That is why some political parties have a disproportionate influence on our lives. They simply get a few more of their supporters to vote. I wish Colin well. We just need another twenty or so others like him to create more balance in what has been a dictatorship.
England win a penalty shootout.
A hot and sunny summer.
A non Tory wins a local by-election.
I can only assume I am dreaming or need to change my medication.
steve -keep taking the pills
Three hundred votes?
WOW!
Don’t let it go to your head.
Sour grapes from the troll. WOW! Surprise.
Wow! Indeed.
Labour 60%
LibDem 6.6%
Con 33%
The Labour group are gonna need an MPV at this rate.
Great result the swing is going to Labour
time to get our roads fully tarmac take away road humps waste of money
MPV?
If “Rob” attended a Full Council meeting he would see that the number of non-Cabinet members on the Conservative side who actually contributed to any debates would only need a mini. And I don’t mean one of the misnamed “German” ones but an original “Italian” one.
Qualitas quantitati as they used to say.
I can only assume “Rob” is happy with what has gone on in the District. Friasgate, brown bin charges, pot holes, shop closures (high rates), parking charges, unrestrained housing debvelopments without infrastructure, clandestine meetings and a huge black hole in our finances. Not to mention a Bypass?? designed to pass between the new estates with carcinogenic potential. In a couple of years you will struggle to get your children in school, see a doctor or even be able to park near the city. There is more but it is depressing me now. I am a floating voter and would not condone what is happening from any party. If Rob believes this is acceptable it is hard to imagine how bad it would have to get to change a seemingly bigoted outlook.
That’ll teach me to hold my own opinions.
At leat I’ve grown a pair of quotation marks so not all bad.
Nothing personal Rob. Your opinions are your own and I really don’t mind if they are at variance to mine. But to be pragmatic it would be hard to defend what has gone on, and regardless of any political preference we will all suffer the consequences.
Well done Colin, just need to get a few more councilors of different parties to truly break the grip of the one party lack lustre majority.
As much as people have this assumption that Conservatives will get in everywhere in Lichfield and the view that only 500 people turned out so it isn’t really a good yardstick, this result should concern blue councillors with less than a year until they all have to try and win their seats all over again.
The swing is significant and indicates that (for whatever reason) the voters didn’t turn out for the Tories, but did for Labour. Now some seats will always be blue regardless, but for the remainder, they should be starting to worry about what this means if things don’t change either locally or nationally. There’s no guarantee the masses will come out to vote (in fact it’s highly unlikely), so it could be small margins once again.
The evidence of the by-election says that unless the Conservatives can get their traditional, elderly support out in numbers, then there is no guarantee they’ll keep their seats come 2019.
Something for them all to think about.