Claire Darke and the Park Ward Lib Dem Team's year long campaign to defeat the sitting Labour councillor has been a great success. When the results were announced at about midday on 2nd May Claire had won with 1490 votes and a majority of 373 over Labour. The Conservative candidate came a poor third at a time when there was a national swing to the Tories.
The Conservatives held on to power in Woking by just eleven votes in May's Council elections after a significant swing to the Liberal Democrats.
Liberal Democrat Leader Nick Clegg has praised the party's strong performance in the local elections. Gordon Brown said it had been a "bad and disappointing" election for Labour, as the party suffered its worst council results in at least 40 years. BBC research suggests Labour won a national equivalent vote share of 24% of votes cast in England and Wales, behind the Tories on 44% and Lib Dems on 25%. So far Labour has lost 310 councillors and a net nine councils, including Reading and Wolverhampton. Lib Dems have so far gained a net 30 councillors on top of an already impressive 2004 performance, and have taken four new councils - Sheffield, Hull, St Albans and Burnley.
The Liberal Democrats tightened their grip on Newcastle City Council by winning even more seats from Labour in this year's local elections.
Projected national share of the vote (BBC)
Liberal Democrats in Scarborough have attacked Government offers to compensate low income earners losing out under tax changes as "vague promises of jam tomorrow".