Friday, September 09, 2016
Lib Dem victory in Sheffield shows up Corbyn's alternative reality
Claims by the Corbynista that massive turnouts at the Labour leader's rallies prove that he can win a General Election were shown up as a fantasy last night, when the Liberal Democrats stormed from fourth place to take a seat off Labour on Sheffield Council.
As the Daily Mirror points out this by-election victory occurred in a City where just three weeks previously a Jeremy Corbyn rally attracted thousands of supporters:
The election was to replace Councillor Isobel Bowler, a longstanding and popular Labour councillor in the Sheffield Ward of Mosborough, who died in June.
In May, Labour won all three seats in the Ward, with the Lib Dems languishing in fourth place behind Ukip and the Conservation Party.
But in tonight's by-election, Both Labour and Ukip's votes collapsed, and Lib Dem candidate Gail Smith won on an 11 point lead.
It represents a huge swing to the Lib Dems in just four months, as they increased their vote share by 31.8%, beating Labour into second place.
Just three weeks ago, some 2,500 people crowded into Sheffield's Barkers Pool square to see Jeremy Corbyn deliver a speech.
Despite drawing a huge crowd, none of Sheffield's five Labour MPs attended the event.
The paper adds that the Sheffield branch of Momentum, the campaign group backing Jeremy Corbyn's leadership, held a phone banking event in the city whilst voting was going on. This event attracted 40 volunteers but they were phoning party members not Mosborough voters.
The Liberal Democrats have been steadily racking up local council by-election gains all year, some quite spectacular like this one. It is a far cry from a resurgence in the party's fortunes, but it is a start.
As the Daily Mirror points out this by-election victory occurred in a City where just three weeks previously a Jeremy Corbyn rally attracted thousands of supporters:
The election was to replace Councillor Isobel Bowler, a longstanding and popular Labour councillor in the Sheffield Ward of Mosborough, who died in June.
In May, Labour won all three seats in the Ward, with the Lib Dems languishing in fourth place behind Ukip and the Conservation Party.
It represents a huge swing to the Lib Dems in just four months, as they increased their vote share by 31.8%, beating Labour into second place.
Just three weeks ago, some 2,500 people crowded into Sheffield's Barkers Pool square to see Jeremy Corbyn deliver a speech.
Despite drawing a huge crowd, none of Sheffield's five Labour MPs attended the event.
The paper adds that the Sheffield branch of Momentum, the campaign group backing Jeremy Corbyn's leadership, held a phone banking event in the city whilst voting was going on. This event attracted 40 volunteers but they were phoning party members not Mosborough voters.
The Liberal Democrats have been steadily racking up local council by-election gains all year, some quite spectacular like this one. It is a far cry from a resurgence in the party's fortunes, but it is a start.
