Camden News: Hampstead Town By-Election Results | LINDA CHUNG (Liberal Democrats) 1,242 - elected | STEPHEN PHILLIPS (Conservative) 1,114 | LARRAINE REVAH (Labour) 289 | ANYA REEVE (Green)

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Camden News - by RICHARD OSLEY at the count
Published: 26 September 2008

Ed Fordham, Linda Chung and Keith Moffitt celebrate victory

HAMPSTEAD TOWN BY-ELECTION

LINDA CHUNG (Liberal Democrats) 1,242 - elected
STEPHEN PHILLIPS (Conservative) 1,114
LARRAINE REVAH (Labour) 289
ANYA REEVE (Green) 140
STEPHEN DORMAN (BNP) 29

Turnout: 36.70 percent

LIBERAL Democrats were awaking this morning (Friday) feeling a little groggy but with smiles on their faces after a night celebrating another stirring by-election triumph. In a swing away from the Conservatives, Linda Chung emerged victorious from the hard fought Hampstead Town by-election just before midnight on Thursday. It sparked raucous cheers among the yellow contingent in committee room one at the Town Hall.
She said: “I just want to thank everybody who has helped on this campaign. I had a wonderful team and they did so well.”
The ward will now be run by two Tories and Cllr Chung, the first Chinese-born councillor to be elected in the borough and one of only a handful in the whole country.
Cllr Chung, who has lived in Hampstead for more than three decades and has experience as a school governor and a non-executive director of University College Hospital, added: “I don't want to sound like I'm blowing my own trumpet but people know the work I have done in the community and there would have been a high personal vote. But I think also there has been a general disappointment with the Conservatives in Hampstead since they got in last time. There was hope at first but disappointments since. We have had Liberal Democrats in Hampstead before. We had Margaret Little – when she died it left a big hole for us. I want to be a councillor like her.”
The by-election was triggered by the resignation of Conservative councillor Mike Greene, the former environment and parking chief who has moved to live with his family in Bournemouth. At the last boroughwide elections, he polled more votes than any other candidate across Camden but Conservative candidate Stephen Phillips could not match the achievement.
The results have been dismissed by some Conservatives as a “personality contest” which are unlikely to be a clear indication on who might be best placed to unseat Glenda Jackson, the Labour MP, at the next general election. Labour, whose candidate, also insisted there had been little debate on policies during the campaign and more of concentration on the personalities on the ballot papers. The Lib Dems shrugged of the claims and insist they are now good bets to take the Hampstead and Kilburn parliamentary seat.
There were protests outside the Town Hall as the ballot papers were being counted in objection to British National Party candidate Stephen Dorman, who received 29 votes – a score which was read out to heckles and boos.

See next Thursday's Camden New Journal for full story

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