Another earth tremor, if not a political earthquake, in the Labour citadel of Sunderland tonight with a gain by the Lib Dems in the Pallion by-election. But this wasn't just any old earth tremor! The Lib Dem vote increased by a modest 49%. As is now the norm, the UKIP vote went into meltdown, but Corbyn's candidate also suffered not only the loss of the seat, but a big drop in vote share. The result was:
LDEM: 53.9% (+49.5)
LAB: 34.8% (-15.9)
CON: 5.4% (-7.2)
UKIP: 4.2% (-24.7)
GRN: 1.7% (-1.8)
To be fair to Labour, everyone other than the Lib Dems suffered a loss in vote share. Those squabbling warriors of UKIP were the worst performers on votes but that does nothing to deflect from the fact Labour lost a formerly safe seat.
Labour lost a seat to the Lib Dems in a by-election in Sunderland this time last year on a similar swing. This is starting to become something of a habit.
Meanwhile, my afternoon of delivering letters in the ward and being mistaken for a Labour campaigner by a very angry voter did not hinder the Lib Dem progress in Sunderland!
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