In the Yeovil West ward By-Election this week the Lib Dems clung onto the seat despite the national picture showing them in terminal decline and the disgraced former councillor implicated in financial misdeeds. In this case the Tories threw their coalition buddies a lifeline by not standing with UKIP grabbing second place and Labour squeezed into third.
Labour PPC for Yeovil, Martin Jevon, has responded by stepping up his campaign with several thousand leaflets delivered and launching a new blog.
Martin said “It was a shame to see that Murray our candidate did not get elected, it means the local party has some work to do, but they are dedicated campaigners and one disappointment won’t put them off. There were also by elections in the West Midlands yesterday, where Labour came first, and on the same day the Tories lost control of Herefordshire council, so a local disappointment for use, but the news was better in other parts. Yeovil Labour will be campaigning over the coming months so join them on the election trail.”
On a poor turnout of 22% it is also likely that the fear of UKIP gaining another seat in Yeovil, after their surprise County win in this LibDem heartland last year, meant people voted tactically to keep them out. The final vote was Lib Dems 722, UKIP 398 Labour 122.
Elsewhere in the county the Lib Dems are clearly on the run as Lib Dem Parliamentary candidates have recently dropped out in Somerton & Frome and also in North East Somerset whilst in Bridgwater the Lib Dems were wiped out over 15 years ago with no sign at all of a recovery..
To follow Martin’s blog go to Martin Jevon’s Blog