So, the Conservatives did not achieve any increase in their share of the vote in the 3rd May 2007 elections as compared to the local elections in May 2006, according to most commentators.
As a matter of fact, they have. Following last year’s local election results, when the Conservatives appeared to have garnered the all important 40% of the vote, Professors Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher showed that in fact the share was 39%. This was seized upon by the media, immediately. I can still recall clearly a Conservative MP appearing on a television programme where he expressed pleasure that the Conservatives had attained the all important 40% share of the vote, only to be slapped down by the BBC interviewer who pointed out that the share was only 39%. How quickly the 39% has been forgotten. Now, the uncorrected 40% figure has been resurrected to prove that the Conservatives have not made any progress since this time last year. Unfortunately for the mainstream media, some of us have long memories.
It is interesting to note that in The Times of 5th May 2007, Professors Rallings and Thrasher are reported to have confirmed that the Conservatives did achieve an increase in share of the vote as against last year, but more importantly that Labour did not increase their share by the full percentage point claimed and still languish at 26%. Is it not strange that a large section of the media has not adjusted down Labour’s share of the vote as they did with the Conservatives last year? On reflection, not really, I suppose.
Focus: A real pummelling for bruiser Brown