New Times,
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4 March 2011updated 17 Jan 2012 5:01am

Lib Dem lessons after a kicking in Barnsley

Labour lost deposits, too . . . but this is what our party needs to learn from last night’s by-elect

By Olly Grender

Ouch, Barnsley! If you have ever been to Lib Dem conference and spent the final night at the Glee Club, you will recognise the song “Losing Deposits”, sung to the tune of “Waltzing Matilda”.

  1. In local and national by-elections where activists are out and on the doorsteps – explaining why we are in this coalition and why paying down the deficit is critical, and talking about the forthcoming tax break that the Lib Dems have won – our vote holds up.
  2. In local and national by-elections where little work is done and where the vote is boosted by a national campaign, the Lib Dem vote plummets. (It should therefore come as no surprise to learn that there are no Lib Dem councillors in the Barnsley constituency.)
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