Using figures from the 1999 Borough Council election throws up some interesting
results.................
(please see below for an explanation of the figures)
- The electorate in Corby Borough numbered (in 1999) around 39,000.
- Labour commanded around 5,950 votes ..........................15.25%
- or 68% of those who voted
- Opposition commanded around 2,830 votes .................... 7.25%
- or 32% of those who voted
- Labour, with 68% of those who voted, gained.................
90% of the seats (26 seats)
- Opposition, with 32% of those who voted, gained...........
10% of the seats ( 3 seats)
- 3 wards were uncontested - Labour candidates were awarded these
seats.
Hopefully, at this point your eyes do not 'glaze over'
:-)
So.................
Of those that did vote............
2 out of 3 voted labour
1 out of 3 did not!
- Therefore, with proportional representation the result might be
somewhat different.....
- Labour would hold 20 seats
(instead of 26)
- the opposition would hold 9 seats
(instead of 3)
With a credible opposition,
would things be
different in our Borough?
-------------------------------------------------------
These figures show a stark reality
around 7 out of 10 people DO NOT vote.
although only having around TWICE the opposition vote Labour gained 9 out
of 10 seats
the opposition, despite having around HALF of the labour vote gained only
1 out of 10 seats.
Is this a contributing factor as to why the people stay at home in increasing
numbers?
Even more startling
of the Labour councillors who did win............
They all were voted into power with
only around
2 out of 10
voters supported them.
Is this truly a Labour town
or a town crying out for change?
Not so much a Minority
Report
More
Minority Support
----------------------------------------------------------
How the figures were arrived at..............
Some wards had 1 seat, some 2 and some 3 seats on the council.
Therefore, EACH individual elector had either 1, 2, or 3 votes depending
upon the ward they lived in.
BUT, they were still only ONE elector.
To work out the figures above it was reasonable to use the following criteria.
- look at the maximum vote for an individual party candidate in a ward
- use this figure as the maximum number of people voting for a particular
party.
- if more than one seat, it was reasonable to assume the voter voted
for the same party in a ward.
- Total the maximum vote per ward as the party individual voter support
across the borough.
(analysis by R of the 'yes' for an elected mayor
group, from a suggestion by D,
used with permission, thanks for the interesting contribution - FreeCorby)
