SENIOR Conservatives have expressed their satisfaction with last night’s by-election result in Stifford Clays, which saw a Labour majority of 354 fall to just 76 votes.
Conservative leader Cllr Phil Anderson said:
“Although we weren’t quite able to pull off the shock victory we had hoped for, I am very encouraged by last night’s election result.
“Labour’s majority in Stifford Clays has been reduced from 354 to just 76 votes, despite them flooding the area with trade union activists once they realised how weak their support was.
“UKIP flatlined and picked up only a couple of dozen additional votes, mostly from the lacklustre Lib Dems. It is clear that people in Thurrock are deeply unhappy with Labour’s policy of merging council functions with the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, and they will surely now have to re-think their position on this.
I would like to thank our excellent candidate Danny Nicklen, and all of the local Conservative team who put in so much hard work to support his campaign. The tide of local opinion is turning in our favour, and if this result were repeated in other more marginal wards it would be enough to put the Conservatives back in control of Thurrock council.”
Sorry Cllr Anderson, but I don’t believe that your delighted with last night’s result.
You must be “sick as a parrot” that Danny missed his chance of winning so losing changing TC’s Labour majority.
As I have already pointed out on another article on YourThurrock – Cllr Anderson is telling porkies. UKIPs vote didn’t flat line their percentage share of the vote increased.
Sorry Cllr Anderson, but a friend of mine was at the count and the Tories were not happy, just to reinforce that you should read what some of the Thurrock Tories have twittered.
I think Mr Anderson has a touch of Labouritis. Ignore the truth, issue a rubbish statement about how positive people are about your party and hope nobody notices. The public are simple plebs afterall. Your vote is split Mr Anderson and that won’t change until the Tories grow a backbone. You will not win anything until the Tories bite the bullet. At least two thirds of the vote at the next election will not go to Labour but they will still win an election because your vote is split. the country will reject Labour but you will not win.
Sorry jmw118 but I am not aware that Cllr Anderson claimed to be “delighted”, rather he was “encouraged” and, I believe, justifiably so. Danny Nicklin reduced a previously huge majority of 354 to a mere 76, in a traditionally strong Labour Ward, that surely merits a degree of satisfaction by the Conservatives. It is members of the Labour Party, like myself, who express satisfaction rather than delight with the result.
Note for Cllr Anderson, there is nothing wrong with trade union “activists”, I prefer them to tax dodging rich “exiles” who have a vested interest in supporting the Conservative Party.
I couldn’t agree more with mr Anderson. It was a fantastic result. Keep up the good work you are doing a splendid job. Coming runner up is what it’s all about.
The Conservative campaign was based on a big lie. The big lie being that Labour was merging Thurrock with a Labour London Council. Knocking on doors and scaring people into believing that Labour are planning to make Thurrock a Labour Borough is just bonkers as it isn’t true. Worse still having Conservative canvassers drafted in from outside the area who know nothing about Thurrock but then telling them to tell residents about Labours merger problems but then being totally unable to answer any questions about Thurrock.
About 5 years ago Thurrock Conservatives distributed an amateurish leaflet warning residents Ken Livingstone and Labour wanted Thurrock to become a London Borough and the clues were plans for Oyster card readers at Grays railway stations and congestion charge signs on the A13 – this was the ‘evidence’ of the ‘takeover’. These leaflets, designed by Rob Gledhill, were childish and pathetic and only the most gullible would believe them.
5 years later we have the Conservatives making the main plank of their campaign a big lie that they keep repeating. The idea of shared services is a Conservative idea. Conservative Minister has held up Thurrock’s shared services as an example to other Local Authorities.
Labour really need to do more to expose the Conservative lie because it is a big lie.
Thurrock are also looking at sharing services with London Borough of Havering
Essex County Council
Basildon Council
Castle Point District Council
Southend on Sea Borough Council
Brentwood District Council
Medway Council
Kent County Council
Despite Cllr Andersons spin and rather bizarre tweets and press release – the Conservatives lost, UKIP lost and the LibDems lost – Labour won – and a win is a win even by 1 vote or 1000 votes.
And please Conservatives stop shooting yourself in the foot. Castigating Labour in your leaflets for potholes when Thurrock Conservatives voted to cut the funding for pothole repairs is a rather embarrassing and amateurish mistake to make and makes you look rather stupid in front of residents. One needs to question exactly who is writing your leaflets and do they have a clue what the Conservatives have voted to cut in the past?
Also claiming the Conservatives will protect the grass verges in the ward was rather stupid. Between 2004 and 2008 none of the Conservative Councillors in the ward did a thing. All the measures in place have been due to the hard of the late Cllr Hale and Cllr Gaywood.
At the end of the day Labour won and neither UKIP, Conservative or LibDem could get enough of their supporters out and voting on the day to win..
If the Tories are delighted at being 2nd then they have found their natural position. Labour always first.
In the end it does not matter if a seat is won by 1 vote or 76 there is only 1 winner and Council still belongs to the Labour Party.
Congratulations Sue – Sorry I could not help.
Peter Perrin. I was referring to YT’s heading about “Tory delight”.
Labour only won becasue the Tory vote was split. 36% of the vote is not a resounding endorsement of the Labour party in Stifford or Thurrock. The Tories need to make up their minds on what they are going to do come the votes that matter nex May and the following May. My guess is Labour won’t be in charge of the council and they will lose a number of Euro MP’s, please god. The majority of the country despise the Labour party for their actions and lies while they were in power. The trouble with the Tories is they have alienated a large proprtion of their support by being too weak on issues that matter, not only to Tory voters, but the majority of people in the country. There is a believeability issue with the Tories. People don’t turst Dave to deliver on his promises. They don’t see the required results on immigration. Until the Tories solve this, a large number of people that would have voted Tory won’t. They will vote UKIP. Labour will win by default and then crow they have the backing of the people when, in reality, they will become a government with minority support, mainly in inner cities they have flooded with immigrants, in the north, where they could dress a chicken as a Labour candidate and it would win and also provide a tasty lunch. The same would apply to Scotland and Wales. Either the Tories deliver on immigration and Europe or they lose.