Well well, the result is ‘just’ IN. Friday 6th June 3.35am

As any of us with any sense knew beforehand, the Tories have held the seat (though only 45% of the vote – too close for comfort?) in the ‘unexpected’ Nottinghamshire market town of Newark By-Election – it would have taken a UKIP supervolcanic scale eruption and not just a mere political earthquake tremor to have unseated the Conservatives with their massive majority in this safe Tory seat wouldn’t it? The Tories are claiming success because it is the first time in 25 years they have won a by election while in power – but that tells more about their abysmal record in power more than anything else, doesn’t it? [Labour have won dozens of by elections when in power!]. Nevertheless, not an acceptable performance, as far as the Conservative elite are concerned -after an unprecitended massive ‘MP attendance whipped-in’ AND many hundreds of bussed-in activists dominating a local campaign (including 4 visits from the PM no less!) . On this showing the tories have NO chance of getting a majority at the General Election have they? So arrogant sod though he is, PM David Cameron will have nightmares of being stabbed in the back.

The UK’s rising star of politics (and self styled ‘peoples army’ UKIP, nevertheless did amazingly well there in a seat they had NO chance of winning and with no existing infrastructure  – taking an unbelievable & IF NOT spectacular SECOND place with due aplomb and an unprecedented  26% of the vote (though they will be disappointed they didnt get 30%). This has been though a very impressive follow-up to their success last month in the local elections & winning the UK’s European Election, don’t you think?

Labour, with only 18% of the vote, will have to seriously reconsider their attitude to Europe and their own competiveness against UKIP if they hope to see Ed Miliband into Downing Street next June, surely? It is a worry into the bargain as well that they could make no impact on the day (and have followed-up with putting their heads in the sand, pretending it did’t happen – AND ducking press interviews to boot)?

Labour supporting National newspaper’s pundit wrote a piece based on a Lord Ashcroft poll titled ‘Farage Loses Momentum’ saying that “UKIP’s earthquake was petering out”. This supposed insight into the poll result has to be seen in light of the true facts: at the last election UKIP languished bottom with only 2 thousand votes (4%) while the Conservatives won the seat with 28 thousand votes (54%), followed by Labour 11 thousand votes (22%), and close behind the LibDems got 10 thousand votes (20%). The Ashcroft pole for the by election had showed UKIP running second with 27% (and the Tories not 50 but only 15% ‘ahead’ & Labour 7% BEHIND!). As Churchill would have said some ‘PETERING OUT’ some ‘MOMENTUM’!
[Is it not a scandal though  that a major newspaper gets away with misleading its readers in such a way? And that a journalist can get away with being paid a fortune to write such rubbish that even the average of us can whiff the smell?

On the very day of the by-election, the same National newspaper even published a front-page, with an inside two page spread, ‘exposé’ of married Nigel Farage, suggesting he was misbehaving with a woman while in on a conference trip to Malta. Was this designed to influence the voting public perhaps? If not, it almost certainly will – but NOT in the ‘negative’ direction intended (as has been demonstrated before!). It probably ‘added’ a couple of thousand votes to UKIP’s pile in the Newark by-election!

Why is that then? Because the Upper classes will be relieved and think “Thank God he’s just like us!’; the Middle classes will be impressed and say “How does he get away with it!”; and the Working classes will be jealous and mutter “Lucky blighter”.

Oh dear, what about the slaughtering of the beleaguered LibDems AGAIN? Oh yes, it was expected of course (but to this scale?)  – you can’t but help feel sorry for their activists though who have been led into the valley of death by their privileged & educated but ignorant leadership, can you? An unbelievably low UNDER 3% of the vote and a lost deposit! (DPM Nick Clegg will still hang in there though – claims it’s not any of his fault you see!).

 

THE RESULT THEN

Winner>>>Conservative>>>Robert Jenrick>>>17431 votes>>>(45%)

Second>>>UKIP>>>>>>>>>>Roger Helmer>>>10028 votes>>>(26%)

Third>>>    Labour>>>>>>>>Michael Payne >>>6842 votes>>>(l8%)

SIXTH>>>  LibDem>>>>>>>David Watts >>>1004 votes>>>(3%)

TURNOUT 53%

 

[Will UKIP continue for the next year to be slagged off by their media opponents as ‘no hope failures’’ for next June’s General Election – and then surprise the major parties again?].