Election Roundup

Other than here in County Durham (apart from one corner, on which see below), Labour did not do terribly well. But nor did it do terribly badly, and in the South it made impressive gains within its target parliamentary constituencies. Some of those were very impressive indeed, such as the six out of seven seats in Hastings. Winning Witney Central was also a classy follow-up to last year's capture of Chipping Norton.

The losses of overall control by the Conservatives were in several cases catastrophic for that party. I freely admit that I had not predicted most of them. Nor had anyone else. North of the Mason-Dixon Line that runs from the Bristol Channel to the Wash, England is now pretty solidly Labour in preparation for 2015, while even South of that Line is very largely persuadable. But will the necessary effort be made? Oh, if they would only listen to me...

I am glad that the two candidates for whom I voted were both re-elected, one Labour and one Independent. But I do have to wonder what the world is coming to, when Lanchester is more safely Labour than Benfieldside, Consett North, Consett South, or Leadgate and Medomsley. None of those has returned a single Labour Councillor. Not one. Someone ought to make a proper study of the politics of Consett. But would any publisher believe it?

The defeat at Consett North of Clive Robson, whom I knew through pro-life long before I was ever a Labour Party member, raises the question of whether the Catholic Church is still anything like the power there that She once was. The victory of Alex Watson is the work of a genius, who successfully put up as "a citizen, not a politician" on the strength of 30 years as Leader of the former District Council, complete with the OBE to show for it. He is truly a remarkable politician who, with a record like that, has got away with saying that he was not one.

I never thought I should see the day when the Tory was bottom of the poll in Lanchester. In fact, the one Conservative and the two UKIP candidates combined took 161 fewer votes than Ossie Johnson, the Labour Chief Whip at County Hall, took on his own. Yes, in Lanchester. The Conservatives have lost their jewel-in-the-crown seats in Chester-le-Street, and the Lib Dems have lost their jewel-in-the-crown seats in Durham City.

Unless I am very much mistaken, Labour has lost no seat, anywhere, to UKIP. Labour has certainly gained at least one seat, in Nottinghamshire, from UKIP.

What the BBC gives, the BBC can and will take away. UKIP, take note. You have not done terribly well, either. Not for a party that is on Question Time monthly, Newsnight thrice-weekly and The Daily Politics daily. Do not expect that level of indulgence from now on. You have let Auntie down.