Trebles all round as Tonii Wilson’s win maintains Sir Robin’s iron grip on Newham
The results of yesterday’s by-election in Beckton, which was held to fill the vacancy left by the death of Alec Kellaway in June, have been announced:
| Syed Hussain AHMED |
Conservative |
584 |
29.6% |
| Mark DUNNE |
TUSC |
21 |
1% |
| Jane Alison LITHGOW |
Green Party |
70 |
3.5% |
| David MEARS |
UKIP |
215 |
10.9% |
| Kayode SHEDOWO |
Christian People’s Alliance |
33 |
1.7% |
| David THORPE |
Liberal Democrat |
43 |
2.2% |
| Tonii WILSON |
Labour |
1,006 |
51% |
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| Total Number of votes: |
1,983 |
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| Electorate total: |
10,510 |
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| Turn out: |
18.86% |
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| Number of valid votes: |
1,972 |
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| Number of Rejected Votes: |
11 |
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There’s so much to be disappointed about here that it’s hard to know where to start.
Obviously this result means Newham continues to be a one party state and, with that party ruthlessly controlled by the Mayor, it is essentially a one person state. Tonii Wilson was hand-picked by Sir Robin and imposed on the local party through a dubious ‘urgent’ selection procedure. She may have been the best candidate Labour could have chosen and, had Beckton members been given a proper say, she might have been selected any way, but we’ll never know. Right now, it just looks like she’ll be an empty suit waiting to unquestioningly do the boss’s bidding. Trebles all round at Building 1000!
The poor showings by the two alternative left parties is a shame. TUSC came dead last, polling even fewer votes than the CPA, but they put up a paper candidate and made no real effort. At least the Greens ran an active campaign. But 70 votes is a feeble return. If the party aspires to re-establish itself in Newham after a decade-long hiatus it needs to be doing better than this. In May the Greens were runners-up to Labour in Forest Gate North. Perhaps this part of the borough is more fertile territory.
By contrast UKIP is doing well in the south. They polled strongly in both Canning Town wards and in Custom House in May; they finished third here with almost 11% of the vote. Electorally, this will probably be of more concern to the Tories than Labour, but any rise in support for the far right in Newham has to worry us all.
The most disappointing thing though is the pathetically low turnout – 18.86%. Fewer than 1 in 5 voters even bothered registering a preference. It’s a spectacular failure by all concerned. But it’s not just a Newham issue, or a even a Labour issue: it’s a national problem that all parties must address.
For the next three and a half years Tonii Wilson will sit in council with the active backing of less than 1 in 10 Beckton voters. Unless we do something to address the democratic deficit there is a going to be real crisis of legitimacy in local government.
Tags: Beckton, by-election, newham
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