Suz Blog

Floating Lib Dem supporter from St Georges Ward, Islington North - a tough blonde 'cookie' having her say. Over the years she's been an Exec member of Islington, the London Region & English party and has sat on many other Federal party committees. Now unshackled from 'saying it as it is' she continues to write about party matters, some international issues and personal musings. Plus snippets of news from Camden and Islington

Sunday, May 07, 2006

Islington: Where did it go wrong?


Devastating news - the result in Islington. After the success of 2002, what a knock-back. We are back to square one, our position in 2000, the year we won the Hillrise by-election and took over control of the council. Such mixed emotions over the last few days - didn't know whether to laugh or cry - now I'm downright angry.

We've lost our Council Group leader Steve Hitchins (what a shock, everybody thought he was invincible - least he thought he was) and sadly as the knock-on effect some of the key heavyweights like Bridget Fox (Deputy Leader) and Margot Dunn (Holloway ward). With the Labour vote nationally being wiped out to lose so many seats in Islington is more than painful. So many calls about the situation, my head is spinning.

To be one of the party's flagship boroughs and to be returned to NOC is a sad situation. With the Lib Dems (24 seats) and Labour (23) the balance of power could rest on the Katie Dawson - Green (Before the election, the Green Party didn't have any councillors in Islington ).

Have noted some of the comments in my posting Camden: What a win! Can see the knives are out - lots of questions will definitely be asked. The local papers are having a field day Islington Gazette and Camden Gazette are running the same story. To my mind and knowing some of the internal local party manoeuvres, the success of Labour is really as a direct result of local issues and personalities (protest votes) which have all been played out in the local papers and not really about Labour being the preferred choice.

It will be interesting who will take over as Group leader (got a good idea who it will be) and how they will select the Mayor (the choice will be the casting vote).

I'm particually disappointed about St Georges especially with the success of the Camden side of the road. It will take a tough locally known street-wise candidate to take on Wally Burgess (described by some as a wily old fox). I've said that before but it was like knocking my head against a brick wall.

On the other side of the road Camden Lib Dems are celebrating their success after 35 years of Labour rule. Couldn't resist the smiling face of Keith Moffitt the Leader of the council in the Camden New Journal

Very interesting are the published percentage turnout figures in some of the wards. A quick early evening calculation of turnout figure from Kentish Town ward polling stations on the night, we calculated roughly 35%, the final figure is higher 41.82% - shows all that canvassing, door knocking and mountains of literature had some impact. I'm just pleased that I was able to play a small part in contributing to their success.

posted by Suz @ 8:01 AM  

13 Comments:

  • At May 07, 2006 12:25 PM, Anonymous James said…

    Coming in as an outsider to help in the last week of the campaign, (I know one of the councillors in the south of the borough very well), the thing that amazed me was how completely out of the blue the Lib Dems were taken by this result.

    Despite in Barnsbury for example a swing from an average 500 vote Lib Dem lead over Labour in 2002 to an average Labour lead of 200 votes this time -- a quite enormous shift, by anyone's reckoning -- the Lib Dems evidently hadn't picked up even the faintest signal that there had been any move in support at all from the 2002 position.

    Somehow, despite significant canvassing, this huge shift hadn't made even the slightest ping on the radar, right up until the moment of the count itself. So such wards were assumed to be fireproof, and campaign resources were overwhelmingly switched to try to take the few remaining Labour wards.

    Surprised reactions from Labour candidates that we weren't focussing everything on trying to shore up Islington South were taken as merely diversionary ploys by candidates running scared; a "Make Poverty History"-like poster calling on voters to "Make Hitchins History" was seen as simply ludicrously out of touch.

    And so, on the day, most polling-day operations in the south of the borough had been shut down by 11.30am, and the efforts redirected further north. Indeed we even Mr Hitchins himself was knocking on doors for the whole of polling day evening -- no less than four hours -- all along Tollington Park and Tollington Way (lost by 500 votes), rather than in his own St. Peters, where he was only 27 votes short of Labour, and another Lib Dem came in only 14 votes short.

    (Incidentally, in contrast to what one commenter wrote in your previous blog, although I wasn't at the St. Peters table, Mr Hitchins seemed remarkably composed and stoical at the count, as indeed the Gazette says, indeed quite surprisingly so for somebody who had just seen the focus of his life for the previous 16 years brought to a very sudden, very unexpected and very public end).

    It's something for all Lib Dems perhaps to be aware of, (I've seen it probably twice before), that canvas returns which can be very accurate when the party is making ground, can be very unreliable if the party is losing ground; particularly of course if the Shuttleworth contains a lot of older data. Ironically, things were probably exacerbated in Islington by special factors: first, a move to concentrate canvassing on voters with a consistent record of going out to vote -- thus missing altogether previous stay-at-home voters who decided to return to the fold after all this year; but also ironically the sheer efficiency and discipline of the Islington Lib Dem teams, who achieved a very thorough canvas very early, perhaps before the impact of the other parties' election campaigns really took hold; and who, when told by the centre to concentrate on the 'development wards' then duly did so enthusiastically and unquestioningly, even though in the event that made them into lambs marching to the slaughter.

     

  • At May 07, 2006 1:06 PM, Blogger Chris Black said…

    Hi Susanne,


    I know from experience that it is often easier to win control of a council than to keep it...so I can sympathise. Just try to enjoy the rest of the weekend and relax a bit...

    By the way, I think you meant to say that Hitchins was thought invincible !

     

  • At May 07, 2006 5:51 PM, Anonymous Susanne said…

    Chris thanks so much for your kind words. Spelling corrected - thanks for pointing it out - sincerely appreciated

     

  • At May 07, 2006 11:51 PM, Blogger Angus J Huck said…

    Some urgent questions need to be asked about the rise of the Green Party.

    It is quite possible that the burgeoning Green vote in Islington cost the Lib Dems control of the Council (look at the figures).

    Who voted Green and why?

    I can't imagine that many of them actually agree with Green Party policies (if they know what they are).

    And remember, the Green Party in Islington would still be a menace even in the absence of Hitchins and the persecution of motorists.

    We have to address this problem, and we have to do so now.

     

  • At May 08, 2006 10:30 PM, Anonymous Susanne said…

    Angus

    Have asked myself the same question.
    Don't really understand the Greens. Was speaking to one of the candidates recently and some of their ideas are so idealistic and certainly not enconomically viable.

     

  • At May 08, 2006 10:54 PM, Anonymous Susanne said…

    James

    I wasn't at the count so can't make any comment.

    Your remarks about Steve I agree. He is a brilliant campaigner - the party is his life.

    To lose St Peters Ward was something nobody envisaged, certainly not me. A total shock.

     

  • At May 12, 2006 1:28 AM, Anonymous K said…

    Susie

    I read your blog regularly it's very interesting.

    What I would like to know is. How you manage to stay to cool about Steven Hitchins. Most of the Islington activists have witnessed or heard about some of the verbal abuse he has mented out to you over the years. Heard some of the stories being put out. Why now when the bully has gone you are not more excited.

    You are always the perfect lady. If it has happened to me, I'd be shouting out from the roof tops. I have tried to keep out of his way to avoid being insulted.

     

  • At May 14, 2006 2:43 PM, Anonymous Susanne said…

    K not sure who you are but you obviously know a lot of Islington's Lib Dem back ground.

    It's true I have more than my fair share of public insults, threats and rude emails from SH over the years. He's never had the decency to sit down with me and talk to know what is his beef. It's all onesided on his part - I've no idea what's his problem with me. I've tried my best to mend fences but no joy.

    He has his good points but lacks people skills. He's upset a lot a people besides me. No point now in kicking a man when he's down.

    People are now talking to me so as far as I'm concerned it's all in the past.

     

  • At May 27, 2006 3:23 PM, Anonymous David said…

    The Lib Dems lost so many seats in Islington because of Steve Hitchins and his bullying ways. The blame sits squarely on his shoulders and nobody else.

    It was a protest vote against a man not the party. In general the Lib Dem administration have done very well. But Hichins was a detestable man.

     

  • At June 03, 2006 1:45 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    ... another reason why the Liberals lost was because their handling of the DECENT HOMES IMPROVEMENT works to the large number of council houses was a disaster.

    The local newspapers report the horrors and nighmares that the Liberal Party had send into people's homes, poorly trained builders that appeared to have no regard to health and safety legislation, or respect to to people's homes and possessions.

    A huge opportunity to make large numbers of people happier (and so vote again for the Liberals) ended up under horrific choas of poorly managed dust storms, unleashed by builders who appeared to be unable to do a decent day's job.

    It was an absulute disaster for the Liberal Party, that they did not exercise their power to demand nothing less than quality, good works to acceptable standards, and respect for vulnerable council tenants.

    I have spoken with a number of neighbours who ended up on pills - the very opposite outcome than what the DECENT HOME SCHEME set out to achieve.

    When confronted with concern, the political leadership behaved like bad teachers: they accepted second best service form Partners LTD, they settled for measuring performance improvements that is presented on colourfully presnted pieces of paper, rather than getting to the bottom: Poor control by Homes for Islington which was allowing poor quality works to pass.

    The problem was/is that the deal that the Liberal leadership signed up for allows that the contractors themselves self-certify the works.

    Looking at the number "completed homes" in my street that have their flues fitted in places which are illigal under Corgy Gas, I would say they are the symbols which show how top-down reliance on private companies can tranlate into real distrust of Liberal leadership in areas (such as home) where people need representatives who improve their live. Colourful broshures do not make up for the nighmares of months of building works by builders who appear to be able to do as they please.

    Karin McGregor

     

  • At August 11, 2006 5:18 PM, Anonymous Paul Newman said…

    One problem at the local election and increasingly at national level is the echoing emptiness at the core of Liberal belief . What does a Liberal believe ? `We are really are awfully nice` is past its sell by date and without any discernible convictions you are bound to appear dishonest .The Conservative Party is often not united because we have principles to discuss . Liberals do not but the advantage of this absence has run its course

     

  • At November 11, 2008 11:54 PM, Blogger Mark Still News said…

    What the Lib Dems done to Uk care workers was appalling. Only an extreme right wing scum Thatcherite party could have done this to put workers in poverty reduce their wages by 50%.

    In gods eyes what goes around comes around!

     

  • At November 22, 2008 11:11 PM, Blogger Mark Still News said…

    LIB DEMS have not got a clue, how to negotiate with trade Unions. The LIB DEMS make NLP look left wing?

     

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