Right, I’ll be liveblogging this for the next hour or so until both results are in:
00:15 Sedgefield result estimated to be in about 30-40 minutes.
00:20 Looks a little tight in Ealing Southall but its starting to look like a Labour hold, Lib Dems second and a bit of a disaster for the Tories - sorry, I mean David Cameron’s Conservatives - after everything they’ve thrown at the seat. ETA about an hour.
00:25 The tables apparently have it up in Sedgefield - Tories and the LDs allocated two tables for the count, Labour give four… low turnout reported, estimated at around 38%.
00:27 And the excuses are starting up North, with the Tories talking up tactical voting amongst their supporters and bitching about the Lib Dems.
00:34 A little classic comedy while you wait…
00:38 Blanket coverage of the ‘no charges in cash for honours’ story - that’s Guido’s remaining shreds of credibility down the shitter.
00:46 Quick shot of the tables at Sedgefield. Looks to be about the double the number of vote bundles in red than in yellow. Tory table looks alarmingly bare… well it does if you’re a Tory, but from where I’m sitting it looks just fine.
00:48 Golf on News 24… yawn! Might have to dig out another video in a bit - any suggestions? Ah fuck it - how about Guido making an arse of himself on Newsnight…
00:51 Thank fuck for that, we’re back to the politics and they’re rounding up the candidates for the declaration… As far as results go, I’ll stick to the big three parties unless anything unusual happens. Meanwhile, have a bit of Blackadder:
00:55 Lib Dems predicting Labour 46%, LD’s 24%, Tories 13% and BNP in fourth in Sedgefield.
00:58 BNP looking cheerful - may well have kept their deposit.
01:00 Right, we’re on…
Labour - 12,525
Lib Dem - 5,572
Tories - 4,082
BNP - 2,494
1:05 Labour Majority 6,969, Lib Dems nearly 1,500 ahead of the Tories and the BNP behaving like a bunch of cunts as usual. No change there…
1:08 Wonder when Greg Stone will start Labour Watch up again? Usual BS from Stone - reckons he’s struck a blow for Lib Dem kind… by gaining all of 637 votes over their result in 2005.
1:12 Tory vote down over 2005 by 1890… that’s a sickener for Cameron.
1:14 Thank fuck that twat from the BNP has shut up, for a minute I thought he was going to start on this…
1:20 Tories talking up their share of the vote as what matters - still lost nearly 1900 votes. Good old bitch about the LD’s negative campaigning - fuck knows what they’ll be saying down in Ealing. Fair play to the Tory for laying into the BNP.
1:22 Anyone else listening to the Tory whinging about the LDs and thinking ‘Shapps’…
1:23 Stone on now - usual ‘coming second here’ waffle and reckons the Tories will come in third in Ealing Southall.
1:28 Over to Ealing Southall. Journos not allowed in the count due to lack of space.
1:29 BBC calling it a Labour hold, LDs second and the Tories rolling in third - with Cameron having hung his hat on this one by parachuting in a chosen man, if that’s correct it’ll be a sickener. 43% turn out estimated.
1:35 Shapps on now - talking up having increased their vote and how the third party always gets squeezed. They’re fucked…
1:37 What a twat - the plus for the Tories is gaining the five councillors. Mwahahahahahahahaha!!!!
1:39 That’s the third or fourth time he’s mentioned the third party getting the squeeze - loo-oooser…
1:42 Just a reminder, last time out the results went…
Labour - 22,937 (48.8%)
Liberal Democrats - Nigel Bakhai 11,497 (24.4%)
Conservative - 10,147 (21.6%)
Tony Lit just arriving - nice of him to show up…
1:45 Christ, another 15 minutes - any thoughts on a another vid to pass the time?
1:47 Tell you what, let’s have a bit of Beck for Tony, Grant and Dave…
1:54 Back on the Blair story - re-running the interview with Sir Alistair Graham…
Time for another classic video - ‘and the vegetables?’
2:00 Results coming up - and I’ve settled on a vid to go with it…
2:05 FFS turn the mikes on… come on…
2:07 Still waiting - now talking another 10 minutes to the result…
2:11 Just thought of a cracking vid for Tony…
2:15 FFS - come on… Beeb keep going on about Ming Campbell visiting on eight occasions - ain’t those bus passes just peachy…
More comedy - Peter Cook this time…
2:20 Jeebus, that political researcher guy’s back on again… come back Peter Snow please…
2:23 Oh do come on - I’m going to run out of fags at this rate…
2:25 At fucking last… Lit’s on the stage - wonder if anyone’s asked him who he is… (Tom, behave yourself)
Labour - 15,188
LD - 10,118 (pretty good on a low turnout)
Tory - 8,230
Majority - About 5,000
43% turnout, down from 57% last time out…
And now the video…
2:33 5,000 majority was at the top end of expectations for us. Lib Dems got their vote out well and a drop of nearly 2000 votes for the Tories with Cameron’s name all over the campaign is a sickener…
Tom’s done a bloody good job down there to pull that majority out of the bag…
2:45 Off to bed in a bit but before I go, here’s the percentages…
Labour - 41.5%
Lib Dem - 27.6%
Tory - 22.5%
All the effort the Tories put in and they managed less than a 1% pick-up. Cameron is going to be toast on the Tory blogs…
Night all…
Are the wheels falling of Dave’s bike?
July 19th, 2007 at 11:31 pm(sorry, ‘off of’)
July 19th, 2007 at 11:31 pmHmmm. No charges in Cash for Honours either.
Hope someone’s locked the drink away and hidden any Sharp Objects …
July 19th, 2007 at 11:35 pmThat bit in Monty Python where the reporter in Harpenden thinks he is in Driffield refers to the real 1970 general election when James Burke, who was in Cheltenham, excitedly reported that the result he had just introduced was that for Guildford. Just thought you’d like to know.
July 19th, 2007 at 11:45 pmI will direct your attention to ‘Labour’s Spartacus Moment’, where- in the absence of this post by Unity- I put the boot into the old hypocrite Guido.
There are many things I could write about Guido- we met once and I shall never forget it- but they will wait for another time….
July 19th, 2007 at 11:46 pmI saw it Epsilon - it’s open house on comments here but for spammers, so say what you feel you must.
July 19th, 2007 at 11:58 pmStiff-upper-lip not hiding wobbly blubbering lower lip over on ToryDiary. Chaps saying things like:
[QUOTE]
If this is true then I think we can be justified in saying “Cameron out”. IDS lost his position after Brent East and this is, in effect, far worse.
The Cameron leadership is a shambles. Shame on us for putting up with it for 2 years.
[/QUOTE]
Dashed bad show what? (Wasn’t you was it, mein host?)
Do hope this isn’t all disastrously pre-hatched chicken counting.
July 19th, 2007 at 11:58 pmDisgraceful slow handclapping by Fascist candidate at Sedgefield.
The Fascist in question is Andrew Spence, whose commitment to democracy was shown when he tried to bring down Blair over fuel prices in 2001. Utter scum.
July 20th, 2007 at 12:09 amLet’s hope the Old Bill check his motor for red diesel before he leaves.
July 20th, 2007 at 12:20 amLets be fair here- the other two ‘leaders’ are not Fascist. Handley is still wittering on about the Fuel Lobby still…Brynle Williams is, of course, Welsh Shadow Agriculture Minister- and no more talk of fuel prices from this opportu..oh..politician on the up…
July 20th, 2007 at 12:22 am1.28 BBC reporting Tory Lite THIRD in Southall. I’m asleep at PC- but suddenly I find the will to stay up for the count…..
July 20th, 2007 at 12:29 amShapps now being interviewed- ludicrously defensive: he clearly knows the truth of their humiliation.
Unity- I will post one day re.Guido; but I have no wish to end up with the fucker taking you through the libel courts. Of course, what I have to say is true- but will the witnesses come forward after all this time? That is why I am so careful what I post.
July 20th, 2007 at 12:38 amUnity,
Brilliant. You’re leaving everyone else behind.
July 20th, 2007 at 12:40 amI was thinking of putting BBC News 24 on - but I think I shall leave the TV off and get my results from here instead. Maybe if the BBC were in the habit of calling the BNP a bunch of cunts more often I would stick with them…
July 20th, 2007 at 12:59 amWhat can I say - we aim to please…
Looks like we’re on..
July 20th, 2007 at 1:01 amThis vid- is it a cover of Scott Walker’s ‘I Threw It All Away’ by leading Asian La..er..Tory, Tony Lit with accompaniment from David Cameron and His Etonian Sniffers?
July 20th, 2007 at 1:06 amNope, something a little more celebratory in terms of the visuals.
July 20th, 2007 at 1:07 amAnd trust me - it is sooooo fucking difficult to stay out of the Goodness Gracious Me vids.
July 20th, 2007 at 1:07 amSomething off Robbie Williams’ “Singh when your winning” CD?
July 20th, 2007 at 1:12 amA journalist on Sky has just said, “MPs are generally younger now, so you don’t get so many bye-elections, which is sad for us.”
July 20th, 2007 at 1:23 amC’mon already!!!
July 20th, 2007 at 1:25 amI’m supposed to be up at 7..yeah, right…
July 20th, 2007 at 1:28 amTories third…Cameron fucked…does 2.30am get this good without a woman involved?
July 20th, 2007 at 1:30 amNo doubt they’ll be blaming it on Lit’s complete lack of any principles whatsoever, but a pretty stinging rebuke to Cameron anyway.
July 20th, 2007 at 1:32 ambelting result in Ealing.The Lib Dems were licking their lips at the prospect of another Dunfermline and got no where near it.Cameron’s Conservatives? You’re having a larf….
July 20th, 2007 at 1:43 amSo what have we learned tonight. Either those figures quoted by Isaby were completely pulled out of the air. Or as he said they came from the Tories, that they are completely shit at telling.
July 20th, 2007 at 1:46 amwhat we have learned is that Tony Lit can’t string two words together.Just seen him interviewed on the Beeb-he sounded more like Granville from ‘Open all hours’ than a prospective MP.Off to bed for three hours sleep, well pleased…
July 20th, 2007 at 2:03 amWas Tony Lit about to cry at one point?
Was the ickle rich boy going to blub?
Awwwww.
July 20th, 2007 at 8:11 amCouldn’t have happened to a nicer party…
I suppose I should expand on my previous entry… :o) The Tories came third in both seats (and there’s some lovely live-blogging of those results here if you’re interested). If you hear any bulldust* about gains today, those figures are……
July 20th, 2007 at 10:02 amThat 2.30 video- the one with plenty of fireworks….
Not the Zep- but don’t they wish they were….the melody bears a striking resemblance to Whole Lotta Love as well….
July 20th, 2007 at 10:49 am1 in 10 vote for BNP in Blair’s former constituency - being discussed here
July 20th, 2007 at 4:13 pmPress Release put out by the Sikh Federation (UK) on Friday 20 July 2007
IN THE END NO REAL SURPRISES IN EALING SOUTHALL
In the last few weeks there have been many twists and turns in the Ealing Southall by election. The Sikh Federation (UK) objective was to try and ensure that there was every opportunity to get the first visible and appropriately qualified Sikh elected to the Commons and to get candidates to deal with issues relevant to British Sikhs e.g. Sikh identity, human rights abuses, 1984 etc.
It was clear from the outset that the only realistic prospects to get the first visible Sikh in Parliament and to recognise Sikhs are an important part of modern British society was if the candidate selected by the Labour Party met this requirement. This was a safe seat that Labour was likely to retain. There also appeared to be a demand within the local Labour Party membership that the time had come for this historic step.
The first hurdle was to ensure the Labour Party opted for an open selection process. The combination of a by election and pressure exerted from several quarters ensured the selection was opened up. Six of the seven on the Labour Party long list were Sikhs, which included three turbaned Sikhs.
So far things were on track; although it was difficult to understand why the Labour Party Selection Panel, comprising Keith Vaz, Mike Griffiths and Norma Stephenson, chose to ignore excellent outside candidates and Labour loyalists, such as Dr Harkirtan Singh, while other less able outsiders were included. It remains a mystery why some formidable candidates that could have united the party were excluded from the long list. Although this would probably have resulted in a stronger shortlist and possibly a different Labour candidate.
The big question was who would make it to the short list. Most assumed this would be down to the performance of individual candidates on the long list as they would each be put to the test and a short list of at least 4 candidates would emerge based on past practice in arriving at shortlists.
However, the Labour Party Selection Panel astounded local Labour Party members, councillors, Labour MPs and Ministers in only selecting two for the shortlist. By pitching the unknown Jo Sidhu against the veteran Virendra Sharma the selection panel were not only deciding who would be the Labour Party candidate, but were also in effect deciding who would be the next MP for Ealing Southall.
Most have concluded the short listing process was a scandal and should never be repeated. When the two names were announced it was a sad day for democracy in the Labour Party and for the people of Ealing Southall.
Meanwhile the Conservatives were coming up with their own strange selection process in deciding who would represent them. There were several local visible Sikhs with a history in the Conservative Party who appear to have been ignored. In selecting the new recruit and political lightweight, Tony Lit, the Conservatives were taking a huge risk in going for someone with no real political allegiances or pedigree. Embarrassingly most have become aware of this since seeing the infamous photograph released at the weekend. This has proved a costly mistake for not only the Conservative Party, but for those who defected from Labour who have been left in the political wilderness.
At the start of the campaign the defection of Labour councillors to the Conservatives put the Liberal Democrats on the back foot and the revelations about Tony Lit’s donation to Labour came too late for sufficient votes to switch to the Liberal Democrats to reduce or overturn the Labour majority. It would have been much more interesting between Labour and the Liberal Democrats if the run up to the by election had been more than the 3 weeks. The outcome may well have been different with Labour and the Conservatives still recovering from shooting themselves in the foot with their selections and showing contempt for the electorate of Ealing Southall.
What about the three independent turbaned Sikhs on the ballot paper? Kuldeep Singh Grewal and Dr Gulbash Singh withdrew after a few days and urged their supporters to vote Labour and Conservative respectively. Despite their withdrawal and a total absence of any campaigning – posters, leaflets, adverts, speeches, media interviews, web sites etc. they still received 87 and 92 votes respectively.
The third turbaned Sikh, Dr Jasdev Singh Rai, claimed from the outset he was in it to win, given around 25% of the constituents were Sikhs and his wider appeal to other communities. He unrealistically maintained this line along with those supporting him, right up until the result was announced in the early hours of this morning. Questions need to be asked why Dr Rai therefore only received 275 votes despite his extensive campaign under the slogan ‘No Party, Just People’.
The Ealing Southall by election has been one of the most controversial ever – divisive selections, defections, dirty politics, police investigation etc. No wonder the turnout was low and ordinary people want less and less to do with party politics. Hopefully, many have had their fingers burnt and learnt a few lessons.
Gurjeet Singh
July 22nd, 2007 at 9:06 amNational Press Secretary
Sikh Federation (UK)