Victory!

What a fantastic result! I'm pictured above with the first Tory MP to have won a by-election from Labour in nearly 30 years. How great to be able to write that! Well done Edward Timpson MP!

Waiting for Victory

Here in the Nantwich Conservative Working Men's Club the waiting is almost over. Word is we've won well, but it ain't over til it's over...

Hughes joins the Tories

Oh, ok, so he hasn't really. As the campaign turned into a battle of balloons and placards at Crewe station, a bemused Lib Dem president was accosted by our own Naweed Khan. All together now 'Lib Dems winning here!'

All Change at Crewe!

Polling day in Crewe and I'm here for my second day. A great atmosphere on if doorsteps and plenty of people giving thumbs up and saying they're going to be deserting Labour for us. Fingers crossed for a good result...

Up Pompey!

Play up Pompey!

I'm blogging this from Southsea Common in Portsmouth where those of us without Wembley tickets are gathered watching the match on the big screen. As the local paper The News (my old workplace) says in a reference to our proud Naval heritage, Pompey expects...

A very enjoyable night out last evening at the Painted Hall of the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich. As well as the star guest of Dr David Starkey, we had the assorted great and good- a Bishop, a tournament of knights and more Deputy Lord Lieutenents than you could shake a spur at. Even the Great Leader Cllr Roberts put in an appearance along with his Deputy, Cllr Peter Brookes. I hope they were as convinced as I was of the huge benefit we can gain from our heritage in Greenwich, if we make a concerted effort to shout about it. For more on it- go to -

http://www.oldroyalnavalcollege.org/the-greenwich-foundation/discover-greenwich,64,AT.html

Greenwich goes Blue!

Bad news for Comrade Roberts and the Greenwich Labour Party. According to the ward-by-ward breakdown of the Mayoral election, Boris Johnson WON the People's Borough of Greenwich. It is an extraordinary result for this Labour stronghold, which has been under Labour control since 1972. The figures are:

Ken Livingstone: 27,651

Boris Johnson: 27,978

A slim margin, but this bodes very badly for Labour in Greenwich. On these figures, ex-cabbie MP Clive Efford will be back on the streets, and Chris Roberts will be contemplating the first Conservative administration in the Council Chamber for 36 years. Happy days. I actually saw Boris last night at a party and showed him the figures - he was pretty amazed.

Much credit must go to my friend and colleague, Councillor Andy Jennings, who ran an excellent campaign in Greenwich and Lewisham, and by all accounts gave Len Duvall a fright at the count as the votes were totalled up. In my ward of Eltham North we ran a big Get Out the Vote operation, and I'm very grateful to everyone who helped us out there. Onwards to 2010!

Brown's authority melts like wax...



As a poll finds more than half of Labour voters want Brown to quit, there is now a further blow to his authority. After a report last month that Madame Tussauds were not planning to make a waxwork of the Great Leader, they have now decided to put the question to the public vote with an online poll.

Whilst it gives the PM a slim hope of taking his place (and expect a determined effort from Labour HQ to get their members to vote), it is rather a humiliating position for him to be in. As Tussauds themselves say:

'When Gordon Brown took over from Tony Blair last year, for the first time in a 150 year history, Madame Tussauds took the decision not to immediately create a figure of the current Prime Minister. Instead we chose to wait for a General Election to confirm Gordon Brown’s status. Ten months later there is still no sign that Mr Brown intends to go to the polls – so Madame Tussauds is holding its own election...'

UPDATE: My cameo role as a Boris cheerleader has been quite widely used in the election coverage. Our friendly Webcameron camerawoman (and try saying that after a few celebratory drinks!) caught the reaction in the CCHQ war-room as the tense wait for the official result ended in triumph. It was quite a moment, and great to be there with David Cameron and the team when it happened. Staying late in the office has never been so much fun!

Fabulous. Just fabulous.

[apologies for the blurry photo - posted at the victory party at Millbank, where dancing continued until the early hours...]

A Night to Remember

So what can I say?

• Conservatives on 44 per cent - up four points on last year, defying expectations and into serious General Election-winning territory
• Labour 20 points behind on 24 per cent - their lowest vote share since records began
• Lib Dems down on their performance last year and losing councils- Clegg is doing worse than Ming.
• David Cameron walks on water.

And so, to bed.

Spectacular Southampton

Fantastic result in Southampton, where the Lib Dems and Labour have been swept out of their cosy coalition by a Conservative revival which has stunned commentators, and is very good for us. Portsmouth is sadly not now looking like going the same way, with Lib Dems hanging on in the seats they had up for election. Gosport, just next door, looks like it might go our way, however...

Come on you Blues!

Conservative Home reports a Tory gain from the Lib Dem Deputy Leader in my home City of Portsmouth. Come on you Blues! For the Conservatives to take the Council in the same month Pompey are in the FA Cup would make mine a very happy household!

First Tory Gain

Tamworth held by the Conseratives with a 1 seat gain from Labour. First of many, I'm sure.

The big winner in London - Democracy

Whatever the result of London's elections, it seems the big winner will perhaps be the democratic process itself. Turnout across the Capital looks to be up, from all the reports being posted on the blogs. In my own ward in Eltham, I was manning the fort in a very Conservative polling district, and turnout is very high - queues at the polling stations, and 50 per cent of our known Conservative pledges having turned out by 8pm, which indicates the turnout may be even higher than the 50 per cent in the Borough elections in 2006. For a country which has seen turnout falling for years, that would be a good night for democracy.

Back Boris!

Blogging service has been slow here of late, but as you would expect I've been out regularly campaigning for Boris, and for our local GLA candidate, Andy Jennings. I'm now getting out the vote in Eltham, in between the rain showers, but with the polls so close it's impossible to call the result this early in the day. Come on Boris!