Did you get a surprise?

[tjwmason]

In your home constituency?

Exactly as expected over here - no change just a steady increase in the Tory majority. To be honest my biggest surpise was noticing that the Labour candidate lives in the constituency.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/vote2005/html/36.stm

Tory majority 15,253 gaining 55.4%.

[Anarcho-Socialist]

1. Not really

Labour held it. I was surprised by the Lib Dems beating the Tories into 3rd place. UKIP lost their deposit.

There was a swing of 8% from Labour to the Lib Dems.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/vote2005/html/63.stm

[oldtime dfl_er]

2. speaking as an ignorant Amurkin

the Lib Dems are the "good guys" , aren't they? Despite the ill-fitting suits and bad haircuts of Charles Kennedy, he seems passionate, compassionate, and on the right side of most social issues.

www.cafepress.com/showtheworld

[Anarcho-Socialist]

3. The 'good guys'...

...the Lib Dems and the anti-war Labour MPs.

[Michael_UK]

5. dubious

As a rock solid labour supporter (traditionally the good guys), the libs appear anti-war when it suits them, and right wing on other issues when it suits them. Basically they stand up for the interests of the middle classes (middle class means something different here than in the States)

[Henny Penny]

10. As a person who supported Labour right up until the Iraq war...

I believe that the Lib Dems were against this war from the start!

[Endangered Specie]

13. Is it true that the Torries arent nearly as right winged as our

right wingers in the US? I mean even they believe in the NHS :shrug:, that type of thing is seen as left here.

(just an american interested in UK politics, I have to say watching y'alls is much more fun :hi:).

[muriel_volestrangler]

15. Yes, not as right wing as Republicans, on the whole

Though with some of them, you get the impression that they would be if they thought they could get rid of the NHS and still get elected. They certainly don't claim inspiration from God for their policies, which is something to be thankful for.

[Endangered Specie]

16. I did some more reading...

looks like your BNP party would be our equivalent of far right wing republicans, actually those guys might be worse. :scared:

[muriel_volestrangler]

18. The BNP are racist scum

Think David Duke, but without the refinement. Actually, their policies, apart from the race-related ones, can be relatively left wing - they're quite keen on government support for people, as long as they're Northern European. They were also against the Iraq invasion. Since their new policy this election was to make everyone do national service, and then make them keep an automatic weapon at home to shoot intruders etc., I think they've been spending time with the American militia nutcases.

[Endangered Specie]

20. dang, I thought gun laws in the UK were pretty strict

:shrug:

[Anarcho-Socialist]

21. They are very strict

the BNP wish to repeal those laws.

[Guy_Montag]

4. A little

I had hoped the Lib Dems might have won here, but despite a whopping 16% swing to them taken from both Lab & Con, they couldn't quite do it.

Shame really.

[muriel_volestrangler]

6. Lib Dems hung on by the skin of their teeth

http://politics.guardian.co.uk/hoc/constituency/0,9338,-1253,00.html

New majority 125 - in 2001, the Legalise Cannabis Alliance got 600 votes. Just as well he didn't stand this time ...

Surprise? Well, in 2001 (and the 2000 by-election) it was thought that tactical voting from Labour supporters had helped the Lib Dem - and perhaps a few of them returned to their party, to balance any remaining people protesting about Iraq. Part of the constituency is rural, and I worried that a pro-hunting vote would help the Tories. The last thing in the papers was that the Lib Dems thought they were safe here. So, a bit of a surprise in the end.

[D-Notice]

7. Not quite

Labour (just) held onto Chester from the Tories by 917, with a 6.7% swing to the Tories - a lot closer than I thought it'd be.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/vote2005/html/140.stm

Labour's votes collapsed into the Lib Dems, which is what saved the seat for them...

It says the Veritas got no votes around here, but they weren't mentioned on the ballot...

Not sure if anyone's mentioned elsewhere, but overall it appears that it's not a case of people voting for the Tories, but Labour's vote splitting up into other parties, which is what's saved their majority

[tjwmason]

9. There seems to be a little firming of the Tory vote down south

Lots of natural Tories stayed at home both in '97 and '01 but are starting to come out again, and a few moving across from the LibDems (as they appear to become more of a left-wing party). But certainly outside the south (especially South East) it is more a Labour collapse than anything else.

[T_i_B]

8. Maldon & East Chelmsford here!

My seat is a safe Tory seat, and the sitting Conservative MP Sir John Wittingdale won. No suprises there then.

All the parties picked up votes except for Labour. I personally think that Labour maybe could have done a little better here but there you go.

[T_i_B]

11. An interesting result from next door to me

Just down the road in Chelmsford West

Simon Burns - Conservative: 22,946
Stephen Robinson - Liberal Democrat: 13,326
Russell Kennedy - Labour: 13,236
Ken Wedon - UK Independence Party: 1,544

The Lib Dems and Labour are neck and neck in this one! Could be an interesting battle for second place next time.

If truth be told both the Conservative MP (Who you may well see more of if David Davies becomes Tory leader as he's quite a close ally of Davies) and the Labour challenger are much better then the ones we had to vote for in East Chelmsford and Maldon. My only knowledge of the Lib Dem candidate is that I was handed a leaflet by the guy outside Chelmsford train station last week.

[LeftishBrit]

12. No surprise in my constituency, but some surprise next door.

In Oxford West and Abingdon, little changed and our Lib Dem MP Evan Harris was comfortably re-elected. But in Oxford East, there was an 11.8% swing from Labour to Lib Dem. Andrew Smith kept his seat, but with a very reduced majority. The Tories polled less than 17% of the vote, though the seat was once held by Tory Steve Norris - but there may have been boundary changes since then.

OXFORD EAST:

Andrew Smith Labour 15,405 36.9 -12.5
Steve Goddard Liberal Democrat 14,442 34.6 +11.2
Virginia Morris Conservative 6,992 16.7 -2.0
Jacob Sanders Green 1,813 4.3 +0.5
Honest Blair Independent 1,485 3.6 +3.6
Maurice Leen Independent Working Class Association 892 2.1 +2.1
Peter Gardner UK Independence Party 715 1.7 +0.3
Pat Mylvaganam Independent 46 0.1 +0.1
Majority 963 2.3
Turnout 41,790 57.9 +2.1

[muriel_volestrangler]

14. The 'university effect' again?

Cambridge went from Labour to Lib Dem, and the commentators said the Cardiff Central and Leeds North West results were in areas with a lot of university employees and students.

[legin]

17. possibly goto to take into account

1917 revolution in Russia, St Petersburg the capital was ahead by about 6 months - 1 year, politicaly, over the rest of the rural Russia.

[T_i_B]

22. Yes

It does seem as though the Lib Dems have been picking up the Student vote. Not surprising really, I remember the Lib Dem's doing takeing Sheffield Hallam in 1997 thanks in no small part to their targeting of students.

If anything the "student effect" has acted as a counterbalance to the Lib Dems losing some votes to the Tories.

[sjrobinson]

24. Chelmsford

I am that Lib Dem candidate in West Chelmsford!

> Could be an interesting battle for second place next time.

Errh - I think not! Labour will be heading downwards at the next election. With constituency boundary changes, it will be between Lib Dem and Conservatives next time in Chelmsford.

[T_i_B]

29. Now I HAVE had a suprise!

I suppose I really ought to ask about Simon Burn's last columm in the Essex Chronicle accusing you guys of making false claims about MRSA at the local hospital here.

[sweetheart]

19. What was a suprise?.. that Howard resigned

That was unexpected, though certainly not unwelcome. John (Lord) Thurso
won this constituency hands down as expected no suprises... the whole
of north scotland is libdem minus the outer hebridies who went SNP.

I'm suprised that the tories kept ANY seats north of the border, and it
seems they've clawed on to 1... that's "1" seat in all of scotland.

It also suprises that the torys who've been sniping about immigration,
by the map, live in places where there are few immigrants; and the
places that do have immigrants (Real ones), voted labour. The huge
blue circle around london explains why, as an immigrant, i never felt
welcome there, and never bothered to even stop in any of those places
except to get petrol.

Frankly, this poll result was wholly unsprising, and i've been expecting
this very result for years now... and its exhausting, this whole
charade of rubber stamping the only group worthy of power, and punishing
bliar for good measure.

The poll reaffirmed for me, that the country is ruled by the
labour party, and not tony blair, something very very very comforting
and fulfilling indeeed. That was sort of a suprise, in a sense,
as much as americans abandond the democrats because of bill clinton,
and here, a more common sense approach reigned.

We'll see what the "mandate" brings down the pipeline... but as of
yet, it seems that britain is safe from the most evil of the
patriarhy for another few years. This poll was a victory for
decency, goodwill and democracy.... it warms me heart.

[non sociopath skin]

23. Denis Murphy walked it in Wansbeck ... a 10,000 + majority ...

... though there was a small swing to the LibDems.

Anti-war, pro-saving Ellington Colliery, seen a lot in the Constituency ... wasn't really worth the other guys turning up.

So what about Wor Denis in your first cabinet, Gord?

The Skin

[Paul B UK]

25. Nope

The Tory in my constituency got in with a slight increase to his already very healthy majority. This part of northern England is a Tory stronghold and they'd have to do something pretty serious for that to change.

[D-Notice]

26. Where

"Oop t'North" are you?

[Paul B UK]

27. I'm in the...

...Ribble Valley constituency.

[D-Notice]

28. Good old Clitheroe!

I was born in that area: Whalley