The people of Barnsley Central have spoken and made it clear that they only have eyes for Labour. On a pretty miserable turnout of 36%, the Labour candidate romped home with over 60% of the votes, while the 2 Government Parties, Conservative and Liberal Democrats, could only just manage to outdo UKIP, with a combined share of 12.4%; even the BNP and an Independent beat the sad Liberals whose haul was a mere 1,012 votes. The Liberals' prized 'Alternative Vote' system would have made no difference - they were well and truly spanked.
Given that the Liberals are likely to receive another mauling at May's local council elections as well as those for the Scottish and Welsh parliaments, the future of the Conservative-Liberal coalition must be in real doubt. As the electoral fortunes of the Liberals decline, party moral will suffer; party activists will begin to voice their concerns ever more loudly and the danger of a split will loom large. Nick Clegg may be able to drag his side through this year's turmoil but any repetition in 12 months time may be a calamity too far. Hold on to your hats, it's going to be a bumpy ride.
As for the Conservatives, Barnsley is not exactly their kind of territory, but they also had a bad night, falling almost 1,000 votes behind UKIP, while also being only 500 ahead of the BNP. Yes, this was a By-election and yes, By-election results are often strange, but these are also desperate times. Cameron has yet to demonstrate that he has any real leadership abilities or that he has any rapport with the 'man-in-the-street' and, unless he improves his own performance pretty soon, he could find UKIP becoming a genuine nuisance before very long.
One can only wonder what May will bring.
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