Labour win council seat from UKIP

A recent trend was bucked last night as Labour won two council seats on South Tyneside council, holding off the UKIP challenge.

Moira Smith took the Primrose seat which had been vacated by Labour’s Emma Lewell-Buck after she was elected to replace David Miliband as MP for South Shields.

In Cleadon and East Boldon, Margaret Meling won ahead of second placed Conservatives, pushing UKIP into third – despite the seat being previously held by them until the death of their councillor David Potts.

‘One swallow does not a summer make’ (you just have to look at this weather to see that) and local council elections often produce anomalies. But with the recent slump in their polling (much of which appears to have come back to Labour), this sort of result may just be a signal that the wheels on the UKIP juggernaut are getting a bit wobbly.

In the meantime, congratulations to Moira and Margaret on their election.