The real polls of opinion

Two by-election gains for Labour today in the key constituencies of Worcester and Nuneation.

After defeat in St Clements ward, the Tories have lost overall control of Worcester City council. Labour 604; Conservative 478; BNP 166; Green 52; UKIP 122. That is a swing of 17.6% from Conservatives to Labour.

And in Nuneaton, the results were even worse for the Tories. Labour 807, BNP 457, Lib Dem 409, Conservatives 329, Green 115, Independent 10. So they came fourth with their vote falling 10% in a seat they were targeting.

These results confirm in my mind that people in the West Midlands have made up their minds about David Cameron. They admire him for his PR but they don’t want him to be PM. That is just the way it is around here. And I don’t think that it is going to change.

I’d be interested to know if people think that this is the case in other parts of the country.

UPDATE: There’s a third gain as well. The Tories have lost Brandwood ward in Birmingham to Labour with a 300 majority. Labour 1998, Conservatives 1663, BNP 290; Lib Dem 285, Green 193, New Nationalist Party 25, Independent 157, UKIP 64 These figures represent a 6.6% swing from Conservatives to Labour. See also “the fightback starts here” at the Stirrer.