Liberal Democrats News

The Lib Dem candidate Hugh Annand has said he always expected to poll poorly after the party dropped to seventh in the South Shields by-election, despite coming third last time around.

• Politics
• Liberal Democrats
• Election

Labour's Emma Lewell-Buck has won the South Shields parliamentary by-election, with the United Kingdom Independence Party's Richard Elvin coming second.

• Emma Lewell-Buck, Labour - 12,493
• Richard Elvin, UKIP - 5,988
• Karen Allen, Conservatives - 2,857
• Ahmed Khan, Independent candidate - 1,311
• Phil Brown, Independent Socialist Party - 750
• Lady Dorothy MacBeth Brookes, BNP - 711
• Hugh Annand, Lib Dems - 352

• Howling Laud Hope, Monster Raving Loony Party - 197
• Thomas Darwood, Independent candidate - 57

The result gives Labour a majority of 6,505 after claiming over 50 per cent of the vote.

Electorate 62,979; turnout 24,736 (39.28%, -18.42%).

• Politics
• Conservatives
• Liberal Democrats

Labour have held the South Shields seat with an overwhelming victory for Emma Lewell-Buck, while UKIP's Richard Elvin claimed a clear second ahead of the Conservative Party.

The Lib Dems have endured a horrendous result, trailing the BNP, the Independent Socialist Party and an independent candidate.

• Politics
• Liberal Democrats
• UKIP

The first results of the 2013 local elections have been declared by Lincolnshire County Council. The authority has begun tweeting ward results and announcing the election of individual councillors as counts are concluded.

First Result: John Rawdon Marriott (Lib Dem) elected with 609 votes in Hykeham Forum http://t.co/FkOsCkwq3o #LincsCCelections

From @LincolnshireCC on Twitter: (10:19 pm, Thu 02 May 2013)

Second result: Reg Shore (Lib Dem) elected with 760 votes in Skellingthorpe & Hykeham South http://t.co/FkOsCkwq3o #LincsCCelections

From @LincolnshireCC on Twitter: (10:33 pm, Thu 02 May 2013)

Result: Sue Wray (CON) elected with 770 votes in Donington Rural http://t.co/JxaPYK7PSE #LincsCCelections

From @LincolnshireCC on Twitter: (11:09 pm, Thu 02 May 2013)

• Politics
• Liberal Democrats
• Conservatives

Labour and UKIP agree that it does not look as though UKIP have really eaten into Labour's vote in South Shields - just the other parties' - which would have been interesting.

It is widely expected that the Lib Dems will lose their deposit here in the by-election. Their candidate has resigned himself to a terrible result.

• Politics
• Liberal Democrats
• UKIP

UKIP leader Nigel Farage has responded to comments made by Foreign Secretary William Hague who has urged Tory supporters not to "waste" their vote on UKIP.

Mr Farage said: "Every time we get an insult from a senior Tory it helps us."

He added: "When you abuse us what you're doing is abusing the vast majority of the British public who want us to be a free independent country, that controls its own borders.

• Politics
• Conservatives
• Liberal Democrats

The Prime Minister dodged questions about UKIP during an interview with ITV's Daybreak after a ComRes Poll for The Coalition for Marriage suggested that the party could win a staggering 22% of the vote in the local elections.

Read: UKIP surge to 22% of vote in latest ComRes Poll

Asked about the rival party, David Cameron said: "What I'm doing is talking about what the Conservatives offer at the local elections and in the end it's people who will go and vote and people who will choose.

"With a day to go I think it's important to talk about what the choice is at this election and most people sitting at home face a choice between the Conservatives running the local council or Labour running the local council."

• Politics
• Conservatives
• Liberal Democrats

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has said the Liberal Democrats are the only party that can be relied upon to both heal the economy and to do so fairly.

In the first of three interviews with the leaders of three major political parties ahead of local elections next month, Mr Clegg told Daybreak that the Liberal Democrats have the right set of priorities for tough times:

Watch the full interview on the Daybreak website.

• Politics
• Local elections 2013
• Liberal Democrats