How did we do in August?

Date	Where	Labour performance	Where finished	Result
4th	Eden DC, Alston Moor		-	LD Gain from Conservative
	Ashford BC, Beaver	243 [27.4%; -10.4%]	2nd	UKIP gain from Labour
	East Riding of Yorkshire UA, South East Holderness	806 [33.8%; +7.9%]	2nd	Conservative hold
	Brighton & Hove UA, East Brighton	1488 [57.5%; +11.1%]	1st	Labour hold
	Rushcliffe BC, Cranmer	130 [22.2%; -7.0%]	3rd	Conservative hold
	Newcastle-Under-Lyme BC, Silverdale and Parksite	399 [56.4%; +19.5%]	1st	Labour gain from UKIP
	Nottinghamshire CC, Bingham	382 [13.2%; -7.0%]	3rd	Conservative hold
11th	Renfrewshire UA, Renfrew South & Gallowhill	1012 [36.9%; -8.5%]	2nd	SNP gain from Labour
	Worcestershire CC, Ombersley	0 [0%; -8.6%]	-	Conservative hold
	North Ayrshire UA, Irvine West	1029 [33.1%; -7.1%]	2nd**	Labour gain from SNP
18th	Waverley BC, Farnham Shortheath & Boundstonea	[0.0%; -14.3%]	-	Farnham Residents gain from Conservative
	Redcar & Cleveland UA, Ormesby	126 [9.7%; -9.4%]	3rd	LD hold
	Richmondshire DC, Catterick		-	Conservative gain from Independent
	Surrey CC, Farnham South	77 [3.4%; -3.6%]	6th	Conservative hold
	Colne TC, Horsfield	201 [25%]	3rd	Conservative hold
	Gravesham BC, Pelham	494 [46.2%; -4.1%]	1st	Labour hold
	Waverley BC, Farnham Castle	[0.0%; -14.5%]	-	Farnham Residents gain from Conservatives
	Wandsworth LBC, Tooting	1467 [58.5%; +13.7%]	1st	Labour hold
	Thanet DC, Northwood (2 Vacancies)	356 [28.8%; +0.3%] 325	3rd 4th	UKIP hold both seats
	Whiston TC, Delph	159 [36.1%]	1st	Lab hold
	Kent CC, Gravesham East	1538 [31.5%; -4.8%]	2nd	Conservative gain from Labour
	Colne TC, Vivary Bridge	201 [25.6%]	3rd	LD gain from Conservative
22nd	Farnham TC, Castle	86 [8.9%; -3.1%]	3rd	Farnham Residents hold
25th	Fife UA, The Lochs	1318 [47.1%; +6.4%]	1st	Labour gain from Independent (Communist)
	Hailsham TC, East		-	LD gain from Conservative

·         25 contests

·         Labour did not field a candidate in 6 contests

·         7 Labour wins

·         Labour lost 3 seats

·         3 Labour gains (no nett gain)

·         Labour vote share went up on 6 occasions

·         Labour vote share went down in 13 contests

·         Out of the top two in 8 contests

This is a mixed picture. It could be argued that Labour should be doing better in this part of the electoral cycle, and I would agree with that. But Labour is in turmoil at the moment, and so these results are pretty good considering. If Labour can unite behind its new Leader then it should be reflected in far rosier results.

This Leadership contest cannot finish soon enough - this has been a horrible summer for the Labour Party, and we have to move on and be the effective opposition to the Conservatives and their ill-thought out plans.