Conservatives extend majority in Kent

Kent County Council election results maps. From KCC Web site.

Labour's popularity woes could not be emphasised more than the voice of Kent voters on Thursday.

With all of Kent County Council's 84 seats up for grabs yesterday, Labour could only retain two of their 20 seats. The Conservatives, who entered with a 37-seat majority over the Labour Party, now have a commanding majority of 74 councillors. The Tories defeated Labour in 18 of Labour's defending seats, and gained one from the Liberal Democrats (Malling Rural North East) while spotting the LibDems two. The LibDems will now be the primary opposition party with seven members.

Throughout the traditionally Conservative county, Labour experienced negative swings as the Tories and Liberal Democrats made modest vote gains, fueled by the ongoing expenses scandal and lower voter turnout. In Dover's district, all five Labour councillors were cast aside in favour of incoming Conservatives. A twelve percent swing against Labour cost leader Mike Eddy his seat, resulting in him placing sixth in the Deal dual division behind colleague Terry Birkett.

Across the county, negative swings for Labour allowed smaller parties to gain votes. Notably in Gravesham and Dartford districts, candidates from the Green Party, Eurosceptic parties England Democrats and UK Independence Party, and local parties made sizable gains. A 25 percent swing against Labour allowed Richard Lees of the Swanscombe and Greenhithe Residents Association to claim a seat, becoming the only non-Westminster party to earn representation on the county council. In Maidstone Central, where a six percent swing allowed the LibDems to claim both seats over a Tory incumbent, the one UKIP candidate earned more votes than both Labour candidates combined.

Labour's only two holds came in dual divisions where two councillors were elected. Leslie Christie remained the top-vote getter in Northfleet and Gravesend West, with the Tory's Harold Kraske placing second. In Ramsgate, Elizabeth Green placed second to the Tory's John Kirby, while Green's colleague Alan Poole fell to fifth behind another Tory and a UKIP candidate.

General resentment toward MPs caught up in the expenses scandal was evident in the Shepway district, where Michael Howard's defence of his £17,000 claim for gardening on his rural Folkestone home and £44,000 for renting a constituent office in Folkestone's town centre also caused backlash on Tory incumbents. The Liberal Democrats were able to claim Folkestone West, as Tim Prater defeated Robert Bliss by 11 points, a nine percent swing away from the Conservative incumbent. The remaining Tory incumbents also experienced negative swings, mostly toward UKIP, but were able to retain their seats.

The obliteration suffered by Labour in Kent was echoed through the rest of England, where Labour only mustered an estimated 23 percent of the vote and lost control of all four councils where they had a majority. Labour's majority in the northern county of Lancashire was reduced to six seats total, with the Tories assuming the majority and the ultra-nationalist British National Party claiming their first council victory in their history. The Tories also gained majorities from the LibDems in Devon and Somerset in England's south west, despite their vote share shrinking to 38 percent from last year's 44 percent.

Election results for the European Parliament will not be released until Sunday night, but if local election totals are a foreshadow, Labour may face further significant losses and put into deeper jeopardy the tenure of Prime Minister Gordon Brown.