"The view inside the People’s Republic of Chipping Norton" (Debate)

Tue 8 Jun 2021, 23:29

About time the DeHondt pr system was introduced then.

Tue 8 Jun 2021, 12:23 (last edited on Tue 8 Jun 2021, 12:51)

The actual percentages of the national vote in 2019 were :-

Conservatives 43.6% (not 42% - that was the previous GE)
Labour 32.1%
Lib-Dems 11.5%
SNP 3.9%
Green Party 2.7%
Brexit Party 2%
Others 4.1%

Interestingly, in the 1997 general election which brought Tony Blair to power, the Labour Party achieved 43.2% of the vote and won a majority of 179. That was the highest share of the vote that he was to achieve in any of the three elections he won (in 2001 it was 40.7% of the vote with 167 seat majority and in 2005 just 35.2% of the vote and a 66 seat majority). That 35.2% of the vote is the lowest achieved by any government with an absolute majority in the last 100 years. That's much lower than the 40% that Jeremy Corbyn won in 2017, difficult as that might be to believe (but more than the 32.1% JC won in 2019).

There have been only two general elections in the UK in the past 100 years where a party has won a majority of the vote (1931 and 1935, both Conservative wins). The highest Labour achieved was in 1951 at 48.8% despite which the Conservatives, who hit 48% won more seats (321 vs 295). That was also the year that the UK came closest to being a two-party state with Labour and Conservative winning 96.7% of the share of the vote between them. In 2019 it was just 75.7% of the vote.

So, guess whose found a spreadsheet with all the GE results since 2018? Fascinating stuff if you are into that sort of thing.

I make it a point of providing references to any statistics as sources are important.

Wed 26 May 2021, 10:32

If Carl had in mind the Coalition government, I wouldn't call that an alliance.  I can think of a number of ways of describing it, none of them printable even in the Debate section!

I read only this morning that the government's 87 seat majority is based on 42% of the vote in Dec 2019.  That's unfair, undemocratic and the cause of serious disillusionment with our politics.  And precisely why we need a non-Conservative alliance - they are hardly likely to change a system so loaded in their favour.

Thu 20 May 2021, 19:43

Alliances don’t work Rod, look at what happened last time! And hung parliaments are even worse. On local level I think coalitions are a good though

Wed 19 May 2021, 17:05 (last edited on Wed 19 May 2021, 17:07)

My congrats to Liz also, good to hear.  Now if only we could reproduce that alliance nationally at a general election...

Tue 18 May 2021, 18:49 (last edited on Tue 18 May 2021, 18:53)

Thanks for all the kind words on this thread - sorry not to have said that before but I have been a bit busy recently!  Normal service will resume now we have an administration in place.   I am very pleased that we have been able to create an alliance with the Greens and Labour. Even though I am taking on a very big job, I will always be available and ready to do whatever I can for Charlbury.

Chippy was entirely Labour until David Cameron became the leader of the Conservatives,  then a lot of people decided to vote that way all over the constituency. Labour had all the District seats and the County seat when I was first elected in 2012. Perhaps the recent bad publicity about DC has something to do with it!

Sun 16 May 2021, 21:45

I don’t think the article is correct in saying that people rejected the Conservatives. Local elections are different to national elections in that people vote for those who contribute the most locally. I don’t know Liz Leffman but I understand she has dedicated many years to local issues. Likewise, Hilary Biles who recently retired and who represented Chipping Norton for many years also did a heck of a lot. The new candidate obviously didn’t attract the popular vote due to her being unknown which is probably similar in other wards. Geoff Saul has contested the seat many times so congratulations to him for getting through this time. And Chipping Norton isn’t a safe ‘Tory’ seat, it’s had Labour councillors on and off for years! Chippy is probably one of the most Labour areas of Oxfordshire - the Lib Dem’s still failing to make any inroads.

Nationally the Conservatives did very well considering local elections are usually used to hammer the governing party and yet another northern constituency has gone to the Conservatives which is an achievement in itself. It’s rare for governing parties to win by elections, especially a seat that has never had a Conservative MP! The Boris effect still prevails much to the disgust of some! 

Sun 16 May 2021, 15:45

As someone who has stubbornly maintained his Labour membership since aged 18, I am encouraged to see the Red Rose preparing to bloom in Oxfordshire.

I agree with Charlie; on so many occasions local Labourites have had to vote 'strategically' in order to get the right person in post. That's why I've voted for Liz Leffman over recent years. No-one can deny that she does an excellent job for Charlbury. And I have to congratulate Andy Graham on un-seating Ian Hudspeth in Woodstock. Andy was very instrumental in helping us to get the Football Club built.

Sun 16 May 2021, 12:29

This is indeed to be welcomed, as far as I am concerned. 

As far it reflects on Charlbury, we are always told that "a Labour vote is a wasted vote", and recent figures seem to support this. As with many areas these days, one has to vote to keep someone out rather than to get someone in! I am not a Liberal, never have been, and never will be, but Ms. Leffman has undoubtedly served Charlbury well, and in many capacities, and I think people of all political persuasions within Charlbury would agree with that.

Her contribution is especially welcome when you consider that our excuse for an MP apparently seems to have as much an aversion to Charlbury as "Reverend" Ian Paisley might have had to the Bogside in Derry during the troubles. Does he ever come here?! All I know is that he does not support free speech, because he blocks people from his Facebook page for making perfectly legitimate comments!

Sun 16 May 2021, 11:34

Interesting times, along with the Tories losing their leader in Woodstock of all the iconic safe seats...

"The view inside the People’s Republic of Chipping Norton"