Solihull goes blue with green tinges!

The Conservative Party has gained six seats to regain its position as majority party on Solihull Council. Previously Solihull was run by a Liberal Democrat/Labour Coalition. It is interesting to see that the BBC has not caught up with local coalition deals preferring to retain the nebulous "No Overall Control" label. NOC gives the impression of a council out of control, or at best not quite in control of things!

The total votes cast for candidates (numbers in brackets) were -

Conservatives (17) 30,321
Liberal Democrats (15) 12,980
Labour (17) 11,076
Greens (17) 4,972
Solihull and Meriden Residents Association (17) 3,728
English Democrats (4) 746
UK Independence Party (3) 447
British National Party (2) 305

The council looks like this now -

Conservative Party - 29 (up 6)
Liberal Democrat Party - 12 (down 4)
Labour Party - 6 (down 2)
Green Party - 3 (up 2)
Independent Liberal Democrat - 1 (no change)

So the Conservatives have a 5 seat majority.

Whilst the Conservatives did very well, it has to be said that the Green Party is putting down roots. In fact they already did this and two more shoots sprung up. Also SAMRA - Solihull and Meriden Residents Association - have broken out of the also rans club by doing quite well in Blythe Valley and the Shirley wards, where they robbed the Liberal Democrats of a seat or two. As for the BNP, they've shrunk and sunk and leave little trace of their venture into Solihull politics.

Polling day for some of us

Those living in London get to choose a new Mayor today, plus electing those who ostensibly look after the devolved powers of the "London Region". Whatever else happens, I hope that Ken Livingstone has more time to spend with his newts!

As for the rest of us in England, some have elections others don't. I have a vote (actually two because I've got a proxy for my wife as Continental Airlines don't provide ballot boxes!) and I will be wandering off later today in the direction of the polling station. Being that this is Solihull, nothing that the hapless Prime Minister does will affect the outcome much as we are a Conservative/Libdem battleground. However, I do hope that he gets a proverbial bloody nose today.

Welsh councils are voting also and they should provide the best territory for giving Mr. Brown a big political raspberry!

Cameron's highwire act to woo Blairites

David Cameron has woken up with a good idea in his head. Talk nicely about some political opponents and they might see a winner in the making. That winner being David Cameron. He's making an audacious attempt to woo top Blairites into his circle of opinion, saying they've made a good fist of their jobs and generally have the right policy thinking. "We are going to be a government for the post-Blair era rather than trying to turn the clock back." That is a sensible comment, but chatting up Stephen Byers, a man who dissembled as well as Blair did, is probably going a bit too far.

I'm not against co-operation, or agreement where it makes sense, but this strikes me as being a touch too gimmicky. On the list of potential Tory totty is Alan Milburn. Now I'd put him into the league of competent modernisers and definitely Blairite New Labour, but he's not a Tory. He's as keen on meddling as the next one on the list.

What David Cameron needs to do is to set out his own policies, give us a solid view of his beliefs and principles, and tell us what he wants for the next 25 years with regard to Europe, immigration, town and country planning and the health and education services. The Netherlands has a 25-year plan for such things as airports and housing. Why not us?

New Labour was all about spin and presentation. On top of that there was a certain amount of deception. Yes, it's true not all New Labour adherents are bad, but in the main they have increased our bureaucracy, upped the level of state interference, and enjoyed destroying our traditions.

The Daily Telegraph reports that it was granted exclusive access to Mr Cameron on the local elections campaign trail last week during which he disclosed his determination to push ahead with reforming the Conservatives - potentially with the help of leading supporters of Mr Blair. I hope not. I really do. It will be like a Trojan horse or, more likely, a Trojan mule. The country is fed up with New Labour, but the potential Conservative vote since 1992 has, over the Blair years, gone all over the place. It's landed in UKIP, English Democrats, and other smaller parties. Some has just become armchair statistics. Others have become "radicalised" and joined the LibDems!

David Cameron needs to build a conservative consensus that can rally behind him. Chatting up New Labour apparatchiks doesn't do it for me, and I suspect quite a few others.

Father and son battle it out for voter sympathy

There have been many combinations of family electoral success in the UK. In the House of Commons we have husband and wife (Nicholas and Ann Winterton), brothers (David and Ed Miliband), sisters (Angela and Maria Eagle), and many more examples. In local council chambers, many husband and wife teams exist. However, what none of them have ever done is stand against each other in the same seat!

Wigan is going to be different this year. Tory councillor Richard Clayton is being challenged by his son, Richard Clayton Jnr, over his matrimonial behaviour. In this election Junior is standing as an Independent. He admits he is "partially" battling his dad as a protest against his father's conduct and says he is concerned about Coun Clayton's refusal to heed earlier pleas to stand down because of it. Well, adultery has never been a reason for being chucked out of office, even clerical office. Lying about it, ah, that's another matter.

The electors of Orrell Ward, Wigan, must be somewhat bemused. Similar name, same address, different parties. Definitely the odds are on a split vote.

Times man prepares for shock BNP victory!

Tim Hames writing in The Times today is contemplating the thought of the BNP gaining seats on the London Assembly. His reasons for this possibility are valid, that the BNP is better organised despite fratricidal outbursts, and that there are no Euro Elections to encourage support for UKIP. I'd be a bit bolder, though.

The nine months or so that Gordon Brown has been at the helm have seen issue after issue that the BNP can exploit. Because Brown and his gang have signally failed to deliver, and the two main opposition parties continue to speak mainly in soundbites, the BNP is able to benefit, albeit in certain areas.

They know how to raise fears over immigration, they can mention dodgy bankers, no jobs for whites, housing hard to get, people losing their homes, etc. All posed in simple but stark terms. Yes we have dodgy bankers, but they don't control immigration. Yes, we have mortgage foreclosures (not repossessions, please!), but this is not the fault of bad employers. The issues and the solving of problems are blurred and fudged.

New Labour cannot bring themselves to talk about or to the BNP. They don't confront them, they hide from them, in a poncy head-in-the-clouds superior way. So, because of their mistakes, the BNP is allowed to profit from embellishing the truth. A sort of spin in reverse.

We shall see what happens, but I feel that come May 1st, New Labour will have to get a grip, otherwise we may see polarisation for no apparent reason!