South West Surrey Liberal Democrats vulnerable in Waverley

The lacklustre, administratively inept Liberal Democrat regime in control of Waverley Borough Council is in danger of losing councillors in the forthcoming borough elections on 3rd May 2007. Snatching the Council from the Tories in May 2003, the Waverley Liberal Democrat administration has been stumbling ever since, the rot beginning with the early loss of three senior Liberal Democrats, including the then Mayor Victor Ducket, Dr Penny Marriott who defected to independent status and the resignation of Chris Slyfield, the leader of the South West Liberal Democrats on the Waverley Council. The Waverley Liberal Democrats’ reputation was further damaged in the run up to the 2005 General Election when their candidate was accused by Labour and the Tories of relying upon “negative, personal attacks” in campaign literature. Whilst local Tory campaigners have been invigorated by recent national opinion polls and the apparent success of their “new” leader, the South West Surrey Liberal Democrats have been further deflated by the indifferent performance nationally of Ming Campbell.

Though Labour has helpfully not fielded candidates in some wards, the remaining core Labour vote is not likely to turn out, rather than vote Liberal Democrat. There never were many more votes to be squeezed out of Labour support, anyway. The situation is further complicated by the Liberal Democrats seeking to recover “their” seats from the defectors who became Independents. Other, new Independents have come forward to contest other seats so the “not Tory” vote is going to be split. The Tories have challenges from UKIP in two wards, but as one of those wards is unwinnable by the Tories, this cannot lead to any more than one Tory loss. In a small but significant number of currently Liberal Democrat seats, only a handful of votes need to change hands for the Tories to win. A sign of the weakened state of the Liberal Democrats is their failure to even put forward a candidate in the Chiddingfold and Dunsfold ward. To cap it all, in one seat part of their vote will be bled by a Green candidate. When it rains, it pours.


The Liberal Democrats. Going down the pan in Waverley.