Residents in the Central Wight ward went to the polling stations yesterday (Thursday).
There were five candidates named on the polling slips, although the UKIP candidate had pulled out (it was too late to officially withdraw).
The last few weeks have seen fervent canvassing across the area by the candidates, but only 1,101 residents ventured to the polling stations, seeing drop in votes cast. Turnout was 38.61% for the voting population of 2,854 (there were no spoiled papers).
By-election results
The results were:
| 547 | Steve Hastings (Con) |
| 286 | Nick Stuart (Lib Dem) |
| 143 | Daniel James (Green) |
| 101 | Simon Haytack (Lab) |
| 24 | Terry Brennan (UKIP |
In December 2017, Steve Hastings resigned from his Baffins (Portsmouth) seat, where he served as a Conservative councillor. Portsmouth News reports that he had been a member of the Conservative Party for 30 years, then defected to UKIP in May 2014. He then switched back to the Conservatives in May 2015.
Analysis of results
The big change last night was the Lib Dem vote which went from zero votes in May 2017 (they didn’t field a candidate), to 286 votes this time, placing their candidate, Nick Stuart, in second place in the ward – receiving just over half the number of votes the of Conservative candidate.
Conservative candidate saw a 47% drop in their votes versus the May 2017 result, when Bob Seely ran. That said, they gained just over half (51%) of the cast votes.
The Green candidate saw their vote drop nearly as much as the Conservatives (44%).
Labour gained 25%, from the low base of 81 to 101 votes.
Hastings: “An honour and a privilege”
Cllr Hastings told OnTheWight this morning,
“I would like to thank the residents of Central Wight for trusting in me to represent them at County Hall, I consider it an honour and a privilege.
“My thanks also to the other candidates who all worked very hard to give residents a good range of options. We achieved as many votes as the three main candidates put together and in such a hard fought campaign this result endorses the Island’s Conservative Administration and how we are working for all residents of the Island.
“As Julian Critchley, the Labour Parliamentary Spokesperson admitted to me the other parties hadn’t previously put in a big effort in Central Wight because in May they all had more marginal wards to concentrate on.
“The Liberals didn’t even join in last time around and the Greens had a reduced vote, so in view of the full concentration this time I think we did well to achieve this result.
“A special thanks goes to Bob Seely MP for his hard work as the previous Ward councillor and I look forward to working alongside him into the future.
“I thank the Isle of Wight Conservative Association, Cllr George Cameron my Campaign Manager and the local branch for selecting me for this seat.
“I am looking forward to Joining the Conservative Group in County Hall to work hard for residents of Central Wight and the Island as a whole.”
Previous margin
In the May 2017 council election Bob Seely won by 768 votes, with a winning margin of 56.26%.
- 1,026 Bob Seely (Con)
- 258 Andrew Langan (Green)
- 81 Jane Mckean (Lab)
Parties respond
We have requested comments from all parties that ran in the by-election and will add here once we receive them.
The party spokesperson for the IW Greens, Vix Lowthion, said:
“Central Wight was the safest Conservative seat on the whole IW Council – no longer. Last night saw their vote almost halve.
“Island Conservatives must surely be asking themselves why they have lost the confidence of so many Island residents.
“IW Greens continue to work hard as a team across the whole Island – and we look forward to gaining more councillors in the main County Elections in 2021.”
Nick Stuart from the Liberal Democrats told OnTheWight this morning,
“Great result last night from supportive central Wight residents. More votes than all other opposition parties together, but Second place so apologies to friends and neighbours who turned out to vote on a cold January day. But as promised I’m here for the long haul focussing on local issues.
“A fantastic effort from enthused party supporters delivering messages right up to 6pm on polling day. 6000+ leaflets 700 doors knocked and 500 personal conversations with residents.Those chats were the interesting, enjoyable and enthusing!
“As the ward champion I’ll be tackling local concerns such as road speeds and large scale developments. But there are many more and my door is open.”
Mark Chiverton, Chair of the Island Labour Party, said,
“We’re pleased to see that our vote increased both in absolute and percentage terms, even in a ward which would not previously have been seen as particularly promising Labour territory.
“Our activists enjoyed the experience of canvassing in Central Wight, and we were extremely encouraged by the reception for our policies on the doorsteps.
“Clearly the collapse in the Conservative vote, even in their safest seat, must be of great concern to the Tories, and they now know that there is no part of the Island where Labour is not able to take votes from them.”
Article edits
1. Comment from Cllr Hastings added
2. Comment from Nick Stuart added
3. Comment from Mark Chiverton added
Image: © Cllr Dave Stewart
