Updated: Lib Dems Top EU Election Poll in Guildford Borough

Published on: 27 May, 2019
Updated on: 28 May, 2019

While the Brexit Party was winning in most areas of England, it was the Liberal Democrats that topped the poll here in Guildford Borough.

See Lib Dem and Leave campaigner’s comments below…

The Lib Dems got 15,412 votes almost 3,000 more than the Brexit Party (12,421) in second place. And the Green Party with 5,581 votes forced the Conservatives (4,537), until recently so dominant in Guildford, into fourth place.

Only 1,748 voters supported the Labour Party in sixth place. Both Labour and the Conservatives, the two major parties nationally, failed to attract support while some parties with clear Brexit messages such as the Lib Dems, The Brexit Party and the Green Party did well.

The turnout at 44% is well above the national average of 37% (to be confirmed) but below the European average turnout of 51%.

The EU Election vote in Guildford Borough as published on the GBC website.

Pie chart showing Guildford Borough EU Election vote by party.

Guildford’s result is aggregated with votes cast in the rest of the South East region which returns 10 members to the European Parliament. Four of those are members of The Brexit Party, three are Lib Dem, and one each Green Party, Conservative and Labour.

MEPs elected to represent the South East – Source BBC

Ciaran Doran, chairman of the Guildford Lib Dems said today (May 27): “The Liberal Democrats have secured the best ever European Election result in the party’s history, winning 16 MEPs [nationally] and taking second place in the national vote share.”

In a press release the Lib Dems also pointed out that they got more votes across Surrey, as a whole, than any other party.

Zoe Franklin

“Having run an unambiguous campaign to ‘Stop Brexit’ the Liberal Democrats have made huge gains across the country – a resounding endorsement of our clear message,” said Zöe Franklin, Parliamentary Spokesperson for Guildford Liberal Democrats: “It hasn’t just been habitual Lib Dem voters who turned out for us. Supporters of all parties voted for us because they reject the Government’s obsession with delivering Brexit at any cost and because they want a People’s Vote on the deal and they want to stop Brexit.

“It was telling that the combination of all pro-Remain parties in Guildford shows an incredible 55% of the vote compared to 30% for pro-Brexit parties. I thank everyone who voted for the Liberal Democrats and every Remain party locally. The Liberal Democrats and I will continue to stand up for you by fighting to stop Brexit and [for the UK to] remain a part of the EU.”

Christian Holliday

Leave campaign coordinator for Guildford the former Conservative councillor for Burpham, Christian Holliday had, unsurprisingly, a different although not entirely contadictory take. He said: “What these results tell us is that the era of sitting on the fence is over. Those parties that performed well in the European Elections have a clear position on Brexit, one way or the other.

“You cannot compromise on a yes/no, black/white, in/out question. The Conservative Party and the Labour Party were duly punished for trying to put together a fudge of a Remainers Brexit which tries to be in and out at the same time. Implementing Brexit in a form that is seen and understood to respect the referendum result is now crucial to the survival of the Conservative Party.”

Brian Creese, speaking on behalf of Guildford Labour, said (May 28): “As a strong Remain area, Guildford opted to support the explicitly ‘Remain’ positions of the Lib Dems and Greens. This was entirely understandable but very disappointing for all our Labour supporters who put in their time and energy campaigning for our first class, and remain-supporting, MEP candidates.

“It is pleasing to see that the Brexit Party did not do well in our area, but Labour remains proud to have tried to put forward ideas of compromise that could see an end to this prolonged Brexit crisis.

“We wonder how, exactly, the Lib Dems are going to deliver on their Stop Brexit promise, which played well with voters but has little actual reality. In the end, solving this mess will require some traditional European compromises, which was the Labour position. Not easy to explain, not very popular but far more realistic than the fundamentalist alternatives.”

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