Council by-election: Brent Dudden Hill
Posted on Friday 25 May, 2007
Filed Under Respect
It hasn’t been posted on the Respect website as a ‘triumph’ for the fledgling party yet. But the 5% or so it polled in the Dudden Hill ward in Brent last night was more than the margin between the victorious Liberal Democrats and second-place Labour:
Brent London Borough – Dudden Hill: Lib Dem 1262, Lab 1177, C 412, Respect 160, Green 156. (May 2006 – Three seats Lib Dem 1460, 1277, 1195, Lab 1163, 1099, 1017, C 579, 551, 527, Green 381). Lib Dem hold. Swing 1.8% Lib Dem to Lab.
Don’t get me wrong. I don’t hold with the argument that far left groups should never run against Labour. All political parties have the right to stand for election.
And of course, it cannot be assumed that Respect voters would opt for Labour in the absence of the chance to back Respect. Indeed, comparing the figures for May 24th with those of May 3rd, it looks like most Respect support actually came from former Greens.
Ultimately, no candidate ever loses a contest because another candidate ‘split the vote’. They lose because they do not convince enough people to vote for them.
But far left electoral interventions – especially those which have zero chance of success – need to be properly judged. That’s why the Socialist Party’s decision to fight John McDonnell in Hayes and Harlington in 2001 was tactically a bad call. And where’s there is the risk that the Lib-Dems or the Tories will gain as a result, there’s a reason to think twice.
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Comments
15 Responses to “Council by-election: Brent Dudden Hill”
I couldn’t agree more. If Sarah Teather beats Dawn Butler in that seat at the next generation it will be a tragedy.
The overlap between labour and respect is almost non-existant in my experience.
Respect voters are motivated mainly by being anti-labour and would vote for other anti-labour options if respect were not standing.
In other news, Joe Higgins of the SP has just lost his seat in Dail Eireann to Joan Bruton of the Labour Party.
I think Respect would take more votes off the Liberals than Labour.
I think Respect would take more votes off the Liberals than Labour.
Pity about the SP losing their seat in Ireland.
It does seem that Respect took votes from the Greens in this election – the Greens have got to be disappointed with the way their vote just collapsed…
Snowball,
now that George Galloway has got a TV show on Sky, will there be a three line whip on Respect/SWP members and supporters to subscribe to Sky TV and boost Rupert Murdoch’s profits??
Ultimately, no candidate ever loses a contest because another candidate ‘split the vote’.
Actually that does and can happen – or one should say a candidate wins due to vote splitting – due to the nature of the UK’s semi-democratic electoral system, which you rather oddly do not mention in your discussion here.
First Past The Post does not reflect choice but merely “winners”. Hence, effectively millions are disenfranchised every General Election.
If a candidate wins a bare plurality then they “win” the entire seat, which is a distortion.
Rather it be that all the votes are accurately represented, and all votes count.
The basis of a proper parliamentary democracy should be equal, fair votes as a basic starting point.
Personally, I am not prepared to support any political party who does not support proportional representation.
The basis of a parliamentary election IS equal and also tied to geographical constituencies Benjamin.
But this was a Lib Dem hold not a Labour loss and Labour’s vote increased while the Libs vote declined in a 1.8% swing.
I doubt Respect made a difference here. As usual.
I doubt whether ordinary voters in Brent will see it as a “tragedy” if Lib Dem Sarah Tether wins the altered Brent seat. Tether won the Brent East seat in a by-election because previous Labour voters saw her as the best chance of striking a blow against the Blair government and the war.
(except in the poorer south of the constituency where many people who’d been Labaour simply would not come out and vote -not apathy, but hostility to “the lot of you”.
Since then Lib Dems have won the council, and have been active recently in opposing NHS cuts (maybe because they would shift burdens on to the council, but not everyone sees that, or is bothered). Sarah Tether has also put herself very much into campaigning issues, notably for a local man in Gunatanamo, and some Labour people have actually condemned her for that.
Dawn Butler did turn up at local NHS meeting which is more than can be said for her Labour colleague in Brent North, Barry Gardner. But hopes the trades council had of working with her have so far not been fulfilled, and she seems to bave quickly got behind Gordon Brown – perhaps in the hope there’ll be a job in the offing.
The real tragedy in Brent is that what was once a strong industrial area was run down under the Tories, and what might have survived and been revived as a left-wing working class tradition has been run into decline and confusion by Labour. The Lib Dems have benefitted by the loss of class consciousness. As for the Left, having gathered some strength (including former Labour Party actvisists) around in the Socialist Alliance, the SWP was quick to liquidate it so they could form a local Respect, though so far it has been almost a non-runner, and at best an also-ran. The sad thing is that some of the local SWP actvists are old-campaigners, better known and respected in the area under their own flag, whereas people just scratch their heads or look away when they turn up as Respect.
“Since then Lib Dems have won the council”
They didn’t win the council…they’re the largest party and running it in coalition with the Tories
Well, becoming the largest party in what used to be a Labour council does seem to me to be winning, even if not a sweeping victory. I know Labour people who lost their seats and I’m sure they regard it as bad enough.
Incidentally, to further confuse people, the Lib dems have adopted Labour’s City Academies policy, whereas Tories opposed it, for whatever reasons. I had the unusual experience of turning up at a protest camp on the projected Wembley site, and talking to people who I subsequently found were Tories, supporting an occupation! (The only occupations Labour supports these days are in Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine)
At the trades council’s NHS protests there were Respect and Lib Dems, the former putting in some work. Not so on the protest over Carlyon Print closing (a no-longer sheltered disabled workshop from which the council has withdrawn support), Dawn Butler sent a message iof support, but the Lib Dems claim their decision is in line with government policy. Guess so -look at Remploy.
But now to complete the topsy turvy picture of Brent politics -Bob Blackman, the Tory council group leader with whose office we crossed swords over the Grunwick commemoration (when leaflets were banned from the local libraries) has been good enough to write to the Wembley stadium people supporting a trades council call for a memorial plaque at least for Pat Sullivan, who was killed working on the stadium site. It’s not much, but…I understand the Labour leader on the council was asked, but if she responded we have not heard from her yet. It’s a funny old game, local politics.
Dave why has the comments box been removed preventing any reply to shouty crack liberal Kasche?
Not wanting to be pedantic and I don’t have the figures to hand but I think if the Socialist Party had taken enough votes from McDonnell to threaten his majority they would have won the seat!
Given her lust for compo he’d be mad to open that comments box.
People (rightly) laugh at daytime telly no win, no fee culture but really it just moved a couple of notches down the social scale.