Tories Win Mayoral Election

[steveL]

Looks like the Tories will win the Mayoral vote. Ahead on the first round.

UKIP will now drop out and their second preference votes are virtually guaranteed to go to the Tories

There were only 9475 UKIP votes across the region.

The interesting one will be where the 12550 Lib Dem 2nd votes go.

Turnout around 18% overall. Hartlepool had the lowest turnout.

[not4me]

That will be fun to watch. If Labour have lost it to the Tories then the great Labour plan has gone tits up.

Prediction: For all that he has said in the past, CAB will now start to try and undermine everything the new Tory guy does.

[not4me]

If the lib-dems end up handing it to Labour there'll be trouble at the vegetarian clubs

[steveL]

Tory Win Confirmed

[Land Phil]

What a mess we are in.

[Exiled Poolie]

Get in!

[Exiled Poolie]

In true Houchen style,  I should add!

[mk1]

What a mess we are in.

Not so. Turnout was low and thus always a possibility that a determined group would get the position as least unpopular candidate. This is not the position in a GE. I am quite relaxed about things because I see it through the eyes of experience. It has all happened before.
The one real hope is that the UKIP collapse is fatal. I am delighted to see the   Kippers and their hangers-on  moaning and whingeing in all the other threads. The party  of  conflict and hate is a few weeks away from extinction.  Will the Muslim/immigrant hating bong-eyed loonies defect to EDL or BNP? 

[Topcat]

Does anyone know how many spoiled votes there were among the Hartlepool 18% who bothered to go?.

[steveL]

18% was the overall turnout. In Hartlepool it was lower.Have to wait for the official declaration for the number of spoilt votes. It will be on the HBC website once they have sobered up after drowning their sorrows.

[Inspector Knacker]

What a mess we are in.

Who was your money on.?

[Land Phil]

What a mess we are in.

Who was your money on.?

Nobody, I spoilt my vote.

I suppose I could have hoped for UKIP just so they buggered up the Tees Valley organisation and the whole idea was abandoned.

Glad Labour didn't get in as I resent everything they do in Hartlepool, very small consolation.

[Inspector Knacker]

I just don't see it as a mess, I'm surprised, but it just shows how poor the Labour Party is, who I reluctantly expected to win.
I didn't want it in the first place and this result will have upset a few apple carts.

[Lucy Lass-Tick]

18% was the overall turnout. In Hartlepool it was lower.Have to wait for the official declaration for the number of spoilt votes. It will be on the HBC website once they have sobered up after drowning their sorrows.

According to Richard Moss (the BBC chap) there were 425 spoilt votes in Hartlepool.

[Paul Thompson]

Do you remember around 14 years ago when Labour Councillors in Hartlepool decided we were going to have a Mayoral system ?

They then tried to stitch it up so that one of their own became the Mayor. They tried time and time again to have one of their own as the Mayor and failed.

They then worked relentlessly to undermine the Mayor and work against him.  They then found a way to get rid of the Mayor and return themselves to power.

Anyone fancy placing a bet that there is a meeting going on somewhere either now or very soon to plot against the new Tees Valley Mayor as he is not their choice.

Its almost like history is repeating itself !!

Personal message to Chris Akers Belcher (I know you and your spies read this forum) - Maybe you should have give the people a vote on the role of the Tees Valley Mayor afterall eh ?

Personally, I am chuffed that 425 people deliberately spoiled their vote in Hartlepool Alone.  A very clear message !!  I would love to read all of the messages left   I hear that some of them were very 'creative'