Prime Minister’s visit boosts Labour in Stevenage
Member of Parliament for Stevenage Barbara Follett was proud to welcome the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, to our town on Tuesday 25th of March to launch Labour’s local election campaign. Following on from his visit, the Stevenage Labour Party secured victory in two local by-elections, giving the party a fantastic boost going into the local elections on May 1st.
The Prime Minister was joined by the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, Harriet Harman, and the Minister for Policing, Tony McNulty, and all were given a warm welcome at the Bedwell Community Centre. Gordon Brown hailed the town as an example to the rest of the country for its work on neighbourhood policing and combating antisocial behaviour. He took time to listen to the concerns of local residents and police community support officers and went on to praise the local heroes who have worked so hard to make their community a better, safer place.
Just two days later, on Thursday 27th March, by-elections were held in the Stevenage Borough ward of Pin Green and the Hertfordshire County ward of Bedwell. In both wards, Labour scored impressive victories. Sharon Taylor, who was singled out by the Prime Minister for her hard work in the town as Leader of Stevenage Borough Council, won Bedwell with 56.5% of the vote and Lin Martin-Haugh held Pin Green for Labour with 54.8% of the vote.
Mrs Follett said: “Gordon Brown was very well received in Bedwell and it seems his message about the importance of neighbourhood policing and tackling antisocial behaviour hit home with the people of Stevenage. My warmest thanks go out to all those who supported the Labour candidates on the 27th of March.
Labour in Stevenage once again bucked the national polls at the by-elections, proving to the country that far from being out of touch, the party is delivering for local people.”
Mrs Follett went on to say, “Despite the fact that we registered small swings to Labour last Thursday, I am not at all complacent and I know that we are going to have to fight for every single vote at the upcoming local elections on May 1st. Labour has delivered for Stevenage and I think that voters recognise this, but we still need to show that Labour is the party that will continue invest in our town.”
PC Paul Lawlor and Prime Minister Gordon Brown
Results
| PIN GREEN | ||||
| Party | Votes won | % of vote | Result | Swing to winner (%) |
| Conservative | 303 | 24.8 | – | – |
| Green | 41 | <1 | – | |
| Labour | 671 | 54.8 | Labour hold | 0.2 |
| Liberal Democrat | 149 | 12.2 | – | – |
| UKIP | 61 | <1 | – | – |
| BEDWELL | ||||
| Party | Votes won | % of vote | Result | Swing to winner (%) |
| Conservative | 625 | 24.3 | – | – |
| Labour | 1,452 | 56.5 | Labour hold | 0.5 |
| Liberal Democrat | 329 | 12.8 | – | – |
| UKIP | 165 | <1 | – | – |
Issued: 03.04.2008
Further information
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