Eastleigh election

Lib Dems have a good record locally in Eastleigh. Their power bases are usually places where they have worked hard to win council seats and in this case the candidate was a well-known local man. UKIP are doing well by whipping up fear of immigration.

Shame the National Health Action Party didn't do better.

Good result for common sense after the circus.

Still think Chris Huhne should be totally ashamed of himself - but am not holding my breath.

g'mum, I have never met a politician capable of feeling shame and Huhne is a prize specimen.

Bags - agree with you, but the political system is so entrenched that people tend to vote for one of the three main parties as they have the resources and get so much more coverage. Can't say, though, that I'm pleased that UKIP has bucked the trend.

The Conservative party is as split as the Labour party was in the early 1980s, between the extreme left wing and the centrist labour party group that later split off to form the Social Democratic party, later still merging with the Liberals to form the Lib Dems.

Now we have a Conservative party with a strong xenophobic, anti-European right wing and a centrist 'one nation' wing. In this case, when the party splits, the right wing already have a party, UKIP to defect to and perhaps the centrist group could join the Lib Dems to form the Lib Dem Cons!!

Who would be in cameron's shoes with that lot to deal with. Keep your head down Ed.

It was always going to be a Lib Dem win, they are too strong, it is a safe seat for them. Chris Huhne was not in the same league of say,Labours Dennis Mc. Shane and his corruption.

What was interesting is the fact the shadow government should have capitalised mid term and failed miserably. No surprise with their candidate and the given area. Bonkers putting him in.

The other interesting point was UKIP took approximately the same percentage of voters away from Lib Dems as Conservatives.

Perhaps now UKIP's policies will be scrutinised carefully and it will become evident they have little to offer in the way of policies that can be acted on with credability.

Looking at it from afar, my guess is the sentiment was 'Anyone but the Tories'.

It would seem so joan - what you might have missed is that the last week the Uk media have been full of scandal about a senior libdem sexually harassing women when he was running the party, and the incompetent handling of the issue by clegg and co.
I fear that UKIP is becoming the party of choice for those who dislike immigration.

Anybody but Labour. They did come 4th.

UKIP took practically equal percentages of votes from the Lib Dems and the Conservatives. Stick with facts.

UKIP is the new party for the rebellion vote. It was always the Shadow Government or Lib Dems, times are obviously changing.

UKIP will come under scrutiny now so people will hopefully be able to have time to think carefully before the General Election. Clegg came in on the back of a failed government promising to do things he had a cat in hell's chance of delivering. He soon found out being in government is not the easy ride he hoped for.