Tories lose Hampstead Town seat

I've decided to use this blog for my eco musings from now on - hence the name change to www.ecocouncillor.org.uk. After all, the main reason I went into active politics was climate change, and I am Chair of Camden Council's Sustainability Task Force, so it seems reasonable to concentratrate my fire on environmental issues.

But I can't resist a quick comment on yesterday's by-election in Hampstead Town which the Conservatives lost to the Lib Dems despite starting as overwhelming favourites to hold the seat. That's the second Tory loss since the local elections in 2006. They lost the other seat to the Greens in Highgate earlier this year. The Tories are now down to 12 councillors. The Lib Dems are up to 23. Labour have also lost two councillors since May 2006 - in Haverstock and Kentish Town. They just can't seem to find activists to put on the streets, which is not surprising because nobody seems to know what they stand for any more.

I can't quite believe just how many by-elections we've had in two and a bit years. Five so far and counting. We've got another one coming up in Kentish Town because our Arizona Kid, Philip Thompson, has resigned to do a PHd in the States. We shot ourselves in the foot over that. The story made it into the national media because he moved to Arizona before he resigned as a councillor. I'm delighted for him that his academic career is going so well, but I do think he should have announced his intention to resign at the point at which he decided to do his PHd abroad.

The Greens ran us very close in Kentish Town during the last by-election there and I expect them to be the main rivals this time. I'm told we identified more potentially Green voters in Kentish Town during that by-election then than any Lib Dem local party in the UK had ever identified before. So I guess it will turn into a referendum about how much the current Kentish Town councillors have done to support policies to mitigate climate change and how much we as an administration have done to push sustainability. Interesting!