Charles Kennedy declared yesterday's local election results the best ever for his party as the Liberal Democrats stormed Labour heartlands to come second with a 29% share of the vote.
The party leader, who watched the results come in until 3.30am, took a train to Newcastle once it became clear the party would wrest control of the city from Labour for the first time in 30 years.
The result saw Lib Dem seats double, from 24 to 48, while Labour's fell from 54 to 30.
[...]
Yesterday's results, while almost matching the 30% share gained in 2003, were hailed as more impressive because the gains had been at Labour's expense.
Sounds pretty good to me. I mean, you can only expect the Liberal Democrats to gain so much; sadly, some protest votes had to go to the Tories.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2004-06-11 09:22 pm (UTC)Well, the Guardian says:
Sounds pretty good to me. I mean, you can only expect the Liberal Democrats to gain so much; sadly, some protest votes had to go to the Tories.