Bi-elections almost always produce losses for the government in Britain, and they often provide a third party victory. This is due to the circus nature of a bi-election when everyone's resources can be concentrated in one constituency. Bi-elections are an opportunity to dramatize a criticism of the government. In all likelyhood the British electorate will come back home in the general election since there really is no where else for them to go. A much better indicator, however, is council elections. If Labour loose a large number of council seats in a national trend, that could be a problem for the Labour government. In 1996 the Conservatives lost a massive number of councils, including many traditionally Conservative city and borough councils on the Home Counties, which was the real portent for the general election of 1997.
Posted by Dave Wilkins at September 21, 2003 01:32 AM