|
Labour Representation Committee
We will be posting regular blogs on this page. Please feel free to comment.
02 May 2008
London decides
The 'Every Evening sub-Standard Tory Propaganda' may have called it for Boris, but we're still waiting for the official results . . .
21:00 - We start with a shock! Labour has gained the Brent & Harrow GLA seat, with Navin Shah narrowly defeating Tory incumbent Bob Blackman.
Is this is a sign that things aren't so bad in London or is this a false dawn?
21:25 - First preference votes in for three GLA constituencies. In Bexley & Bromley, Boris won 122,000 to Ken's 40,000. In City & East Ken beat Boris 94,000 to 49,000, and by a similar margin (96,000 to 57,000) in North East.
21:30 - another win for Boris as he takes Havering & Redbridge by 87,302 to Ken's 45905. Overall, after 4/14 results I make Boris about 40,000 first preference votes ahead. BNP polls over 5% too.
21:40 - Not good. Ken scrapes home in his old stomping ground of Brent & Harrow: 65,862 to 61,825. Last time, in 2004, Ken was 12,000 clear of Norris here. On a more positive note, BNP candidate gets a paltry 1.65%.
21:55 - Another win for Ken, so it's 4-2 in constituencies, but Ken has only won by 12,000 votes in Greenwich and Lewisham (he won by double that margin in 2004). Boris remains ahead on 1st prefs - and he still has several Tory strongholds to come. Start hoping those 2nd prefs favour Ken heavily. BNP polls around 3% in G&L.
At the mo it's Boris on 45% and Ken on 42%.
22:15 - In the constituency seats, Labour has held City & East, and North East under John Biggs and Jennette Arnold respectively. Meanwhile Tories have held Havering & Redbridge and Bexley & Bromley.
Worrying votes for fascists: The NF came 4th in B&B, with nearly 6% of the vote; and in C&E the BNP came 4th with just under 10%.
22:30 - Sky says Boris has won West Central first pref votes, but no breakdown yet. In at 23:15, Boris storms it by 91,000 to 47,000. BNP a paltry 1% if that's any consolation.
22:40 - BNP Mayoral candidate polled only just over 5% in City & East. This is probably a good sign - as it is slightly less than the 5.6% the BNP mayoral candidate polled in C&E in 2004. Need to keep them below 5% to stop them getting representation, but C&E is one of their better areas, and they've only just got above. Then again their GLA candidate was only just shy of 10%, ahead of the Lib Dems (5th) but behind Respect (3rd).
22:45 - Ken has apparently won in Enfield & Haringey and in Lambeth & Southwark - details to come . . . L&S in at 23:20 - big win for Ken 80,000 to 47,000. Another of Ken's old stomping grounds. Any results for Henley? No? Oh that's because Boris has never represented London . . . until now . . . probably.
22:55 - 10 out of 14 and its 43% Boris, 40% Ken. Still awaiting Merton & Wandsworth though (prob Tory). Ken around 60,000 votes behind on 1st prefs with 4 to go. Enfield & Haringey saw Ken win by 6,000, compared with 17,000 margin in 2004. Boris won in SW by 32,000 margin - Ken won by 7,000 last time. It's not good, not good at all.
23:05 - bit of a lull. so time to stop and analyse. Sky says Boris is ahead in 4 remaining constituencies to declare: Barnet & Camden, Croydon & Sutton, Ealing & Hillingdon, Merton & Wandsworth. The really worrying thing is that Ken beat Norris in 3 out of 4 of these (not C&S) in 2004.
23:15 - Boris has taken Croydon & Sutton. It's now 42% to 37% - and a 95,000 vote lead to Boris, as Boris wins by a massive 35,000 margin.
23:25 - Looks like Boris has also now taken Merton & Wandsworth and Barnet & Camden. B&C confirmed - an 18,000 margin to Boris, Ken won by 7,000 last time . . . and now M&W with over 45% to Ken's 35.6%.
23:35 - With 13 of 14 results in, Boris has a 130,000 lead on 1st prefs - 43% to 37%. Similar win for Boris in Ealing & Hillingdon with 45% to 34%, and that's 14. Still 43% to 37%, but a 150,000 lead on 1st prefs. It will need a miracle on 2nd prefs
23:40 - Taking stock - Ken's vote has held up on last time (a little up in numbers), but the Tories have mobilised their vote massively. Boris polled 43%, Ken 37%. In the country last night, the Tories had 44% to Labour's 24%. That reflects Ken's personal vote - 14 points. Reducing a 20 point gap to six.
23:50 - Final vote, with 2nd prefs, done. Boris has been inflicted upon London (124977 2nd prefs to Boris, 135089 2nd prefs to Ken - not enough).
00:00 - John McDonnell, LRC Chair, said: "This is desperately worrying for London. It is also a personal tragedy for Ken who has devoted his life to the capital city and its residents"
"Ken has been the victim of the backlash against New Labour".
posted by Andrew at
13 Comments:
marshajane said...
Andrew
Ive got details on my blog as well
:)
xx
02 May 2008 21:49
marshajane said...
Come on fisher keep up :)
02 May 2008 22:17
Duncan Hall said...
Very worrying about the fascists. Do you think they'll get an assembly seat?
I hear the Standard has 'called it' for Boris (I didn't realise we did such things...) and the BBC are doing a big 'Story of Boris', as if he's won. But it doesn't sound as bad as it might in your updates... Or am I just being mindlessly optimistic?
02 May 2008 22:25
Sean said...
its gonna take an awful lot of transfers and I cnat see it :(
02 May 2008 22:28
marshajane said...
Update 22.55 10 in
Ken has won north east, city and east,brent and Harrow greenwich and Lewisham, Enfield and Harrow, Lambeth and Southwark. 43%
bojo has won bexley and Bromley, havering and redbridge, west central , southwest. 49%
Paddick on 10%
02 May 2008 22:57
Sean said...
oi were not all tories down ere in sw london ! We have two labour MPs for a start one in merton one in wandsworth!
02 May 2008 22:58
Jon Rogers said...
hmmm for much longer?
this is not good
02 May 2008 23:52
Sean said...
nope this is very very bad at the moment. We are getign breaten out of site in areas whe have MP's even with Ken's personal vote. It all feels a bit rotten at the moment we need change not of personalities but of politics those Blair looked towards have deserted us while those who were loya to us have given up or stayed at home in many cases
02 May 2008 23:59
marshajane said...
Ah help BOjo is indeed mayor - even if Boris gives Ken a gowing character reference!
02 May 2008 23:59
Jon Rogers said...
I agree with Andrew that Ken's vote (which was a personal vote but also a vote for politics distinctively to the left of New Labour) held up far better than our national vote. The Tories are triangulating and trying hard not to frighten the voters by appearing too rightwing so there is no case for a shift to the right on the basis of these results.
03 May 2008 00:18
said...
Agree with Jon, also gracious words from John Mc considering the rumours (or maybe they were smears) that he couldn't stand Ken. On the GLA assembly, it seems that we even did better than last time.
03 May 2008 00:25
said...
John and Ken have made peace simce they fell out over rate-capping back in the GLC days in case anyone didn't know! John also worked in an advisory capacity for Ken on local government at the GLA's start though later ceased this due to other work commitments not anything sinister. They still appear on platforms and meetings together - I think you have been misinformed Matthew -their differences are not that great and they do get along - they go back such a long way adn of course teh left will rally round to it's own just as the Tories have done with Boris (though they won't have any scruples about his policies of course!)
The only way forward I can see now is the formation of a left party with Ken, John and all other Labour rebel MPs' with a conscience though this would probably take some years to build up or to call for (and get)a proper leadership challenge to Gordon Brown with a real policy discussion not the fake ones New Labour give us. The Ken/Boris votes was actually pretty close and Ken got a larger number of votes then he won his second term with in 20004 so the Brownites will have to take on board the popularity of Ken's policies unless they wan tto carry on committing electoral suicide.
I also know for a fact that Ken and John get on as I worked on Ken's original mayoral campaign back in 2000! I remember that we received calls from the media all round the world on the concept of a directly-elected Mayor for London as well as wanting to interview Ken personally and of course from many true Labour people who had supported Ken in the GLC days and wanted to help. In post Ken went on to live up to and indeed surpass the expectations we all had then only constricted by the limitations of the mayor's powers -it's a sad loss. It looks as if he may have lost votes from the greedy sort of right-wing business people who didin't like him working with Venezueal because their own greasy hold on the world's oil prices is thus threatened and people who portray the congestion charge as a stealth tax etc and who will only be green when forced....unfortunately those people manage to sway the views of people who've only seen Boris on HIGNFY having no time for or interest in politics in today's busy world, not necessarily through any fault of thier own. So now we have lost the vision of the man who could have taken us beyond such narrow and ultimately unsustainable Tory views of the world to a better futture for all of us. The only thing that comforts me about the right wing's current sucess in all the elections this week is that they will ultimately prove to be outdated being so ungreen and unsustainable in the way they happily pollute the environment with petrochemicals in domestic washing powders etc, (nonbiofuel) petrol etc etc and let the gap between rich and poor perpetuate as theydon't curb the nastier excesses of capatalism with any government regualation so will ultimately not be able to carry on grabbing the best of the world's resources for thhemselves (weighting everything in faviour of white middle class men which is totally outdated now not mention sexist -the workplace is already moving away from this though not at all fast enough) unless they want the planet to self-destruct!
Can we complain to the press Complaints etc about the incredibly biased Evening Standard coverage promoting Boris??
Don't be fooled by his "humble" speech (not that any of the readers of this blog would!) -sounds like it was written by Cmaeron for him to rote-learn!
03 May 2008 01:07
Jon Rogers said...
all this and the bnp in the assembly too...
damn
03 May 2008 02:00
Previous Posts
|
 |
