Friday 7 May 2010

Battle of the Bush: Andy Slaughter MP re-elected

Andy Slaughter has been re-elected the new Member of Parliament for Hammersmith which includes Shepherd’s Bush. His majority is 3,549.

In a knife edge race, which saw its own clutch of dirty tricks and mudslinging from all sides, our sitting MP clinched the race to represent us. At the time of writing there is no clear winner on the national scene, with talk of coalitions swirling around the TV studios.

There will doubtless be battles and challenges ahead, but this isn’t the time to debate them.

I’m really happy to see Andy re-elected. Happy because I thought he was our best chance of avoiding some of the outcomes I could see coming locally courtesy of the Council but also pleased because he has been an excellent MP. A natural loyalist, standing down from his Ministerial post in order to fight his own government over Heathrow was not easy. Neither was the number of hours he put into local campaigns which gained him precious few votes but were the right thing to do so he did them. But he will also realise that nationally his party has failed to win many arguments and hardly won a resounding endorsement.

I do however feel sorry for Shaun Bailey. Throughout the campaign he’s actually talked a lot of sense – on jobs and the economy most notably. His campaign team, though at times not very impressed with my critiques of them, have always been good natured and the fact he was so high profile may have actually hurt him in the end. Most of all however I think his colleagues at the Town Hall cost him this seat with their ridiculous planning decisions taken against the wishes of so many residents, some of whom were clearly intent on taking revenge.

They just have. Although getting 17,000 people to vote for you is something he should be proud of.

He’ll be sitting at home soon wondering whether it was all worth it – he wouldn’t be human not to be. For those whose lives he improved in Shepherd’s Bush during the campaign it certainly was and for livening up the election locally we’re grateful.

Merlene Emerson promised much but when it emerged hers was a part time campaign she faded and actually lost 3% from where the LibDems came last time. In fact the story of the night locally and nationally is how the LibDems have flopped. A great big belly flop, the sort where you lose your trunks on the way into the water and emerge ashamed. Politically, you understand.

Here are the results in full:

Andy Slaughter Labour 20,810 43.9 +1.5

Shaun Bailey Conservative 17,261 36.4 +2.4

Merlene Emerson Liberal Democrat 7,567 15.9 -3.0

Rollo Miles Green 696 1.5 -2.6

Vanessa Crichton UK Independence Party 551 1.2 +0.6

Lawrence Searle British National Party 432 0.9 +0.9

Stephen Brennan Independent 135 0.3 +0.3

So that was that Bushers. I don’t know how many of us will still be here in 5 years time but one thing I do know is that W12 won’t look the same. I hope you voted and found some of the coverage here helpful in making up your mind. For now I’m looking forward to covering a summer of local events and all things non party-political; I hope you carry on reading.

7 comments:

  1. Personally, although I saw Andy at least twice walking around the borough, I never saw Shaun in the borough. Or Merlene, for that matter.

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  2. I didn't see Andy once during the campaign, but saw Shaun about 10 times! Only saw Marlene finally on the night before the vote. I'm not unhappy that Andy was elected, he's not enough of a rebel for my liking, but isn't a Tory, which is always a good thing. But you're right Chris, the biggest story (for me at least) of this election has been the curious non-performance of the Lib-Dems.

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  3. Congrats to Andy as well, sadly I now have a tory MP for the first time after 34 years living in West London, Angie Bray, one of Ashcroft's babes.....Iain Muir

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  4. Andy deserved to win the seat. No amount of money could disguise the fact that Shaun Bailey was insincere and took the electorate for fools as did the Conservative paymasters of his election campaign. It just goes to show that all the hype around Shaun Bailey was just that. He was hollow, shallow and insincere. The debate on Palestine swung it for me becuase Shaun Bailey knows that deep down as a born again Christian he would never support the idea of a Palestinian state. Andy is far from perfect and can come across as being a tad smug. but it is our job as voters to keep him in check and make that he ensures that S Bush remains a vibrant. happy place to live with good public services.

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  5. Well done Andy!

    I'm not Shaun's greatest fan but I feel he would be a more competent candidate for the Tory seat of Fulham than Greg Hands.

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  6. Well done Andy. u deserve to be re elected. i like how u respect everyone in the borough, and u,r tireless work. well done and keep up the hard work.

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  7. I reckon Shepherds Bush needed an MP like Shawn, people thinking a Labour MP has improved Shepherds Bush in any way live in a dream world.

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