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July 24, 2009
Norwich North - a resident's analysis of the result
The Tories have taken Norwich North from Labour, with the results of the by-election this morning confirming the predictable election of Chloe Smith, now the youngest Member of Parliament.
Smith gained 13 591 votes, defeating Labour's Chris Ostrowski with a massive margin.
However, last night's episode of Question Time, filmed at St Andrew's Hall in Norwich serves as an example of Norwich residents' disillusionment with Labour, rather than support for the Conservatives.
Many constituents here (in Norwich) maintain that Ian Gibson was a good representative of Norwich and a strong Parliamentarian, unafraid to speak his mind, which is what ultimately forced him out. The point was raised by an audience member that Geoff Hoon's expenses claims, for example, left a lot more to be desired than Gibson's, yet Hoon came away relatively unscaithed.
The Tories really had to do very little to win the by-election: it seems Labour did most of it for them.
With regards to whether the by-election is a projection of what is in store for Labour in the next general election, I think it's fair to say that if the Conservatives do win by a landslide, it'll be Labour's loss - not a Tory gain.
Posted by rachelsursham on July 24, 2009
Comments
The moral of this story is that it is not for a party or individual voter to decide whether an MP should be re-elected but for the voters collectively. Only one system allows that and that is STV.
It is also worth pointing out that the new Conservative MP represents just 39.5% of the voters in Norwich North. What a magnificent victory!
Posted by: Anthony Tuffin at July 24, 2009 10:20 PM
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