The 2014 local elections are now well and truly underway as Weymouth & Portland Borough Council have announced the runners and riders for the 12 wards that are up for election this year.
So far, so normal. Yet for those of us who are political nerds, the slate in Weymouth & Portland for May 22nd makes for interesting reading.
At their peak in 2005, the Lib Dems led W&PBC as the largest group, with 14 councillors, and in 2010 when the country was gripped with “Cleggmania” (remember when everyone “agreed with Nick”?) the Lib Dems had a very respectable 11 councillors on W&PBC (7 fewer than the Tories), as the Labour group sank to a low of 5 councillors – perhaps reflecting the national scale of the general election defeat.
Yet here we are just four years later, and the Lib Dems are facing a crisis locally as much as nationally. In the 12 wards facing elections in Weymouth & Portland, the Lib Dems have found just 5 candidates to stand for them. Perhaps this is not surprising (given that nationally Lib Dem membership has fallen 35% since 2010) but to give this stat some context, these 5 candidates are outnumbered locally by both UKIP candidates (6), and by the Green Party (8).
The Lib Dems are looking like a spent force in South Dorset. The national Party had to intervene to ensure that the local Lib Dems suspended Cllr Ryan Hope, yet they then immediately formed a new political group of “Lib Dems & Allies”, so that the newly “independent” Cllr Hope could remain on committees for them – a move that is still “under investigation” by the regional Party. Their recent election literature still names him as part of the “local Lib Dem team”. Of the five Lib Dem candidates, two are sitting councillors; current Mayor Ray Banham, and Cllr Christine James – who is helped by there being no Tory candidate in Westham North. Both must be nervous.
UKIP have managed a respectable 6 candidates – but their attentions will surely be on the EU elections, and there seems little strategic thought in their decisions about who is standing where, given the demography of the wards.
The Greens are the third largest Party in terms of presence in these elections – an impressive development – but again it is curious seeing where they have chosen to stand. There is a Green candidate in the affluent Preston ward for instance, yet none in Underhill – an area so badly affected by this winter’s storms and floods, and where the community was so engaged in the recent beach cleans. The Greens will pick up some protest votes, and some from the “anti-politics” demographic – but I can’t see them gaining any councillors.
The Tories have almost managed a full slate – but have not been able to find candidates for Underhill on Portland or Westham North. Their ability to campaign effectively, however, is questionable – and there is little evidence of any meaningful campaigning so far. This is a national theme, and it is estimated that Tory membership has halved since Cameron took over, their activist base is aging, and they are losing support from some of their most committed voters to UKIP.
By contrast, South Dorset Labour is on the up. But for an administrative error, Labour would have had a full slate of 12 candidates, and of the 11 that are standing four are under 30. Membership is growing, and our teams are out campaigning every weekend, and every weekday evening. When real numbers of volunteers come out like that campaigning is a pleasure, not a chore; and in elections, they say, momentum is everything – and Labour has that momentum in South Dorset.
However, most importantly is the message. This year we are not just putting out leaflets – but we are launching our vision for Weymouth & Portland – but more on that next week…
Simon Bowkett is the South Dorset Labour Prospective Parliamentary Candidate. Follow his campaign at www.simonbowkett.co.uk, and on Twitter @Simon_Bowkett
