The Lib Dems: The Nasty Party 2

At the next election the main event will, as always, be the clash between progress, represented by Labour, and the party of privilege – the Tories. But for some, such as Labour in Haringey the local contest will be with the Lib Dems.

Thanks largely to her immense, inherited wealth, Lynne Featherstone was able to build a strong campaigning Lib Dem organisation in Haringey, and in 2005 that won her one of the most superficially shocking results of the election when she beat Barbara Roche to become the new MP for Hornsey and Wood Green. From there the Lib Dems went on to come within a whisker of taking control of the borough council in 2006.

But it has been a different story since then. The Lib Dem group on the council expanded to a size where Ms Featherstone’s personal writ no longer ran; two councillors moved over to Labour; the GLA elections were a shocker; and last night the Lib Dems were humiliated in their attempt to win the Seven Sisters ward – in a byelection held under the shadow of the death of Baby P, with a campaign marked by a ferocious attempt by Ms Featherstone and her cronies to claim there was a Labour “cover up” and that not voting Lib Dem would allow Labour “to get away with it.”

All that was accompanied by the usual rubbish about it being a two horse race – when the electoral facts were that this year’s hobbled nag was ridden by a jockey in yellow (see graphic).

Given that the Lib Dems are holding a conference this weekend in which they will claim to be the sole progressive force in British politics, the lack of differentiation between their messages and those of the far right fringe in the election (and their flaunting of an endorsement by a particularly right wing former Tory councillor) are notable. Nobody is suggesting Lib Dems are fascists in drag but it seems they have a problem in drawing the line in what is and is not acceptable.

The Lib Dems were and remained third. The Tories, relying on a hardcore vote that was ethnically based (Tory blog ‘mulitculti Britain’ ranters – we mean you, Douglas Carswell ) – did well in a low turnout election.

But all credit to Labour’s newest councillor, Joe Goldberg, and his team, for their hard work in winning this seat in the most difficult of circumstances.

Result – Seven Sisters Ward, London Borough of Haringey:

Labour hold.

Lab 1032 (37.1%, -9.3), Con 968 (34.8%, +7), LD 581 (20.9%, +8.2), Green 166 (6%, -7.1), Ind 36 (1.3%, +1.3).