Leyton and Wanstead election result – Labour hold

Labour have held Leyton and Wanstead; John Cryer is the new MP. There was a small swing to the Lib Dems from Labour – 2.6% – and the Conservatives were third. All other candidates, including BNP and Green, lost their deposits. Turnout was 63.2%, up 9.3% on 2005.

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From around the web

9.20am. John Cryer wins Leyton and Wanstead

Polling station at Christ Church, Wanstead (Picture: Yenwodt)

7am: Turnout was 63.1%, but counting has taken much longer than expected, and Dominic Binns is reporting that no declaration is expected until 9am.

1.40am

BBC estimate of Leyton and Wanstead declaration is 3am. Wanstead Guardian’s Daniel Binns reports that not many candidates are at the count yet – though John Cryer and Edwin Northover are there – and that a result is not expected for “many more hours yet”.

FRIDAY 1.30am.

Redbridge election officials say there were no problems with polling stations and queues in Leyton and Wanstead, the Wanstead Guardian reports.

23.15
Yellow Advertiser reports rumours that one count in Wanstead which normally has a 30% turnout has reportedly had 75%.

10.30pm


@zzgavin voted in leyton & wanstead, ex-MP H Cohen. Voted #libdem for chance at reform plus might be a marginal 7k to Lab, but lots of libdem posters

iamjamesward It has been FIVE MINUTES since I invited the candidates standing in Leyton & Wanstead to try to win my vote and I have heard NOTHING.

blue_harvest Didn’t know wanstead even had a BNP candidate until i saw it on my ballot paper. Strangely enough, i didn’t vote for him. Come on the blues!

BACKGROUND

For information, the 2005 Leyton and Wanstead result, adjusted to reflect recent boundary changes, was:

Labour 45.8%
Liberal Democrat 24.7%
Conservative 22.8%
Others 6.7%

Subdued last Campaign Saturday in Wanstead

Wanstead might have expected the High Street to be a-buzz with last-minute feverish campaigning on the last Saturday morning before polling day. After all, it seems there’s plenty to play for – 6,000 is a respectable majority but not an unassailable one, and though the Conservatives have been very active campaigners, some are still tipping the Lib Dems to cause an upset here.

But it was a subdued atmosphere which greeted shoppers. There were token campaign tables from Labour and Tory groups, though not, it appeared, the candidates. And the other parties – Lib Dems, UKIP, Greens, BNP and Christian – were not in attendance.

Comments today on Twitter and Facebook about the contest include:

@mapsadaisical Leyton and Wanstead? Labour probably favourites, but I reckon both Lib Dems and Tories think they have an outside chance.
@markb999 Tories and Labour on Wanstead High Street this morning. No Lib-Dems. However, they have started sending me letters. v.odd.


@sajarina Well, still had no response to my question about abortion rights from any Leyton & Wanstead candidates except the Labour one (pro-choice)

Jenna Hedges The Leyton and Wanstead Lib Dem candidates were not present at the prospective candidates meeting/hustings with the public today and have apparently pulled out of all the Questions debates in the area. Very strange and feel compelled to find out why!

Dave Buba Iain Duncan Smith in Waitrose South Woodford

Leyton and Wanstead candidates, updated

UPDATED: The full list of candidates for Leyton and Wanstead for the general election on 6 May is below. The Wanstead Society held hustings on 24 April; there is a digest of people’s reactions from Twitter and Facebook here. The BBC News constituency profile is here.

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UPDATE 6 May:  For Leyton and Wanstead results, click here.

Wanstead candidates out in force

Saturday morning campaigning in Wanstead High StreetIn what will probably become a fixture of Wanstead High Street in coming weeks, both Labour and Conservative prospective parliamentary candidates spent their Saturday mornings with trestle tables and volunteers within feet of each other handing out leaflets. Below are the leaflets they were distributing.

Wanstead News roundup, 21-02-2010: Celeb historian, Subo’s cat, powercuts…

Passengers were stuck for two hours in a Central Line train outside Liverpool St on Wednesday. The Evening Standard reported that the driver couldn’t even contact control to inform them the train was stuck.

A power cut in Wanstead on Monday left High St shops, doctors’, dentists and a nursery without power for seven hours. Shopkeepers want compensation, but EDF says they don’t qualify, Wanstead Guardian says.

The story that Susan Boyle’s cat is now living in Wanstead became an internet meme, spawning links and reports on Twitter and beyond.

The Labour party has published its shortlist for candidates for the Leyton and Wanstead constituency. On it, according to the Labour Home website, are

John Cryer, former MP for Hornchurch who lost his seat in 2005 and is now political officer for union Unite
Tristram Hunt, historian and broadcaster
Sophie Linden, a Hackney councillor and former special advisor to David Blunkett
Terry Paul, chairman of the West Ham Labour party.
Roxanne Riaz
Ahmed Shazad, Chair of BAME Labour

Four architects firms have plans for converting the United Reformed Church halls on Grosvenor Road, after they were bought by the owners of Woodbine Place’s Treehouse Nursery. They plan to use it as an after-school club.

The first person to apply for an ID card from the government was Peter Fawcett, 21, of Wanstead. He said: “If you’ve got nothing to hide you’ve got nothing to worry about.”

Plans have been published for the empty row of shops opposite Snaresbrook Tube (see them here on Redbridge council site). They are to be knocked down and turned into flats.

What the new flats would look like