TORY VOTE CRUMBLES IN BRACKNELL BY-ELECTION

4.52.45pm BST (GMT +0100) Fri 16th Oct 2009

Hanworth still Tory but only Lib Dems increase share of the vote

Despite a dismally small turnout of only 23.4%, the Tories managed to hold on to the Borough and Town Council seats in Hanworth, previously held by Alan Browne, a former Tory councillor who died recently while on holiday.

The elections were contested by UKIP and the BNP for the first time, as well as by the Green Party and the three main political parties. Both the Tories and Labour suffered huge falls in their share of the vote compared to the local elections held in 2007. The Conservatives' share of the vote fell from 64% to 42% and Labour from 32% to 25%. The Liberal Democrats increased their share from 11% (in 2003) to 14%, while the other remaining parties each polled less than 10%.

The Liberal Democrat candidate, Larraine de Laune, fought a strong campaign and was the only candidate to hold on to her level of support from previous elections. The votes cast for the Conservative candidate fell from 1198 (for Alan Browne in 2007) to 640, while those for the established Labour candidate fell from 615 in 2007 to 377.

Commenting on the outcome, Ray Earwicker, Liberal Democrat Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Bracknell said 'It was a hard fought contest and it proved difficult to persuade electors to come out and vote. The MPs' expenses scandal and the public's general dissatisfaction with the whole political system undoubtedly played a part but the low turnout was very disappointing.

Many people may have felt that there was little point in voting for a change in a safe Tory seat but if you don't vote, it won't happen. The result clearly had a message for both Labour and Conservative and the overall outcome for the next General Election was by no means certain.'