[Samanfur]

It dawned on me that I hadn't shared the results of the local by-election I mentioned last year:

Since at the last local election, the Tory candidate having his party membership suspended for being a far-right sympathiser seemed to encourage the electorate rather than put them off, the CLP was pleasantly surprised.

[mattomac]

I seem TUSC did as well as usual.

You'd think they would do better at the moment anyhow very good result for Labour.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Greens win posh villages in the Stroud District. Or have Stroud bohemians moved in?

[Youngian]

Tories missed a trick here: ‘The Labour/Lib Dem vote actually fell in X number of wards.’
In reality they’re staggeringly bad figures

[Tubby Isaacs]

The usual sorts are BTL talking how people have blah blah Tory Sir Keir blah.

Much more likely this down to the congestion charge. And if Labour can bring that in with 4.3% swing to the Tories only, that's a result in my book.

[Yug]

The Tories believe it is about the congestion charge

The Conservatives have cited a proposed congestion charge as a reason behind winning their their first seat on a city council since 2012.

Mohamed Delowar Hossain won Tuesday's by-election in the King's Hedges ward on Cambridge City Council.

The vacancy occurred after Labour's ex-deputy leader, Alex Collis, resigned over the plan to make drivers by tolls.

Mr Hossain said he wanted to "raise people's voices about the congestion charge"...

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-cam ... 106531.amp

I think they're most probably right.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Yeah.

Note also the poor performance of the Greens.

[Youngian]

Doesn’t bode well for Uxbridge if the Tories can make hay about the congestion charge in Cambridge. It’s a crappy car journey from this outer area into the centre, plenty of buses and a pleasant walk or cycle.

[kreuzberger]

The Tories believe it is about the congestion charge

I think they're most probably right.

If it can happen in Berlin, it can happen anywhere. Granted, the congestion charge is a one-off 5€ payment for green, cat-4 badges and that didn't sway the suburbs.

However, the inner boroughs have set up plenty of cycle lanes, especially during the lockdowns, and the donut-dwellers now find it tough to drive in to the city and to park at a whim.

In a sense, that is true but the CDU ran the last election on a "Park like a cunt" ticket and took the city for the first time in eons. The totemic street is Friedrichstraße, where, frankly, no one shops anyway. The flagship posh handbag stores are and always will be ghostly. (Hint; no Berliners would/could splash out 3500€ on a Bottega di Veneta weekender unless they are the moll of a drug dealer or a rapper.) At least, it became moderately interesting with a few places where you could sit with a flat-skinny-chai, whatever that might be.

Still, the Friedrichstraße has been reopened to traffic and guess what - it is ghostlier than ever. And today's twist? The planned tram extensions are being considered for cancellation, so that parking spaces aren't impacted upon. Really.

Thankfully, the backlash has started and spontaneous, decentralised go-slow cycle protests have begun to spring up. And, once these begin to sync with the anti-oilers - the Last Generation - all hell will break loose, or rather, just grind to a standstill.

It is all so that the mercifully few people who actually drive SUVs can do so with impunity. Aye. If it can happen in Berlin, it can happen anywhere.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Doesn’t bode well for Uxbridge if the Tories can make hay about the congestion charge in Cambridge. It’s a crappy car journey from this outer area into the centre, plenty of buses and a pleasant walk or cycle.

The swing to the Tories wasn't all that big in Cambridge, and anyway it wasn't a vote for Sunak, who is very unpopular. I think Uxbridge should be fine. If your car qualifies, why are you going to show solidarity with people who want to make your kids breathe bad air?

[davidjay]

With the usual disclaimer that local issues may have affected the result:

[Tubby Isaacs]

In effect, per Election Maps, it's a Labour hold but with a big swing to them.