Thornbury and Yate General Election result 2017

The results of the 2017 General Election in the Thornbury and Yate constituency are as follows:

• Luke Hall (Conservative) 28,008 ELECTED
• Claire Young (Liberal Democrats) 15,937
• Brian Mead (Labour) 6,112
• Iain Hamilton (Green) 633

Congratulations to Luke. Many thanks to everyone who supported us, and to all those who worked so hard on our campaign.

Many young people not registered to vote - but there's still time

Young people aged 17 or 18 are being urged to register to vote in time for the General Election on 8th June.

New figures just released by the Electoral Reform Society show that the proportion of school leavers on the electoral roll dropped by over a quarter between 2013 and 2016 – with most of these missing voters now eligible to vote in this election. Shockingly, in one parliamentary constituency 75% of young people are not on the voting register. This follows the change from registration by household, to each voter having to register individually.

Claire Young, Liberal Democrat candidate for the Thornbury and Yate parliamentary consituency, said:

"This election is about the type of country we want to live in, a chance to change Britain's future. Young people will be living with the results for many years to come. It's vital that they get a say in that future"

"Whatever your age, if you haven't already registered, you need to do so before 11:59pm on 22 May if you want to be able to vote in the General Election on 8 June. You can do it online at www.gov.uk/register-to-vote - you may need to have your National Insurance number at hand to prove who you are"

Claire Young to fight General Election battle for Lib Dems in Thornbury and Yate

Well known local councillor Claire Young says she is looking forward to the General Election. She will be the Lib Dem candidate for the Thornbury and Yate constituency, working to regain the seat that was held until two years ago by Steve Webb.

Claire is currently the South Glos councillor for Westerleigh ward, and deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats on South Gloucestershire Council. She has many years of experience of helping local people and campaigning with them to get things done. Recent campaigns have included working with bus users to press for improvements to the Southmead 82 bus service, speaking up on behalf of parents and pupils about the difficulties at The Ridings Federation schools and challenging the Conservatives' poorly thought through development plans for our towns and villages.

Claire said: “Theresa May repeatedly said she would not be holding a snap election. I am ready for the challenge ahead and will be looking forward to standing up for the people of the Thornbury and Yate constituency”

Parliamentary election in Thornbury and Yate - full results

Luke Hall has taken the Thornbury and Yate parliamentary seat for the Conservatives, with a majority of 1495.

The full results of the parliamentary election are as follows:

• HALL Luke Anthony - Conservative     19,924 ELECTED
• HAMILTON Iain Adams - Green      1,316
• MARTIN Russ - UKIP     5,126
• ROBERTS Hadleigh Vaughan - Labour     3,775
• WEBB Steven John - Liberal Democrats     18,429

Congratulations to Luke Hall and many thanks to Steve for his 18 years of service to our area.

Polling day reminder

Thursday 7th May is Polling Day.

Thank you to everyone who has given us a warm reception on the doorstep and told us how much they value the hard work the local Focus Team does all year round.

Please help us to continue that work by voting for John O'Neill in Charfield Ward, Pat and Dave Hockey in Frampton Cotterell Ward, Duncan Goodland in Ladden Brook Ward and Claire Young in Westerleigh Ward - and Steve Webb for MP. In some areas there will also be Parish Council elections.

• Polling stations are open from 7am to 10pm.
• You don't need your polling card but it helps.
• If you have a postal vote and have not yet completed and returned it, you can still take your ballot paper in person to the polling station on Thursday.

The General Election votes will be counted on Thursday night/Friday morning and the South Gloucestershire and Parish Council ones on Friday afternoon. Results will be made available on the South Glos website.

Never mind the TV debates...

... what happened when the candidates for Thornbury and Yate went head-to-head for the first time?

At the start of the General Election campaign the five candidates for this constituency took part in their first ‘hustings’ meeting. Young people attending sixth forms across Yate and Chipping Sodbury, and voting for the first time at this General Election, organised a meeting at Yate International Academy, attended by over 100 sixth formers. What was THEIR verdict on all the candidates for this seat after quizzing them?

Before the hustings, in a secret ballot the Tories were neck and neck with Steve Webb, with the other parties trailing.

But after a two hour head-to-head grilling of all the candidates things changed.

In an exit poll at the end of the event the Tory vote halved from 25% to 12%, while Steve Webb's vote surged from 25% to 43%.

After testing the candidates on all sorts of issues, the young people's verdict was clear. THEY want Steve Webb to win - they see him as the best person to help deliver the future they want for themselves and their world.

You can hear the candidates at the following public hustings meetings:

Tues 14th April – 7pm
Armadillo, Station Road, Yate, Bristol, BS37 4FW
(organised by Federation of Small Business)

Thurs 16th April – 7.30pmZion United Church, Woodend Road, Frampton Cotterell, BS36 2HY

Tues 21st April – 7.30pm
Thornbury Baptist Church, Gillingstool, Thornbury, BS35 2EG

Thurs 23rd April – 7.30pm
Cranleigh Court Chapel, Cranleigh Court Road, Yate, BS37 5DQ

When people hear Steve and what he has been able to achieve with residents locally and nationally it strikes a chord.

Now the election campaign really begins

Parliament was dissolved on Monday and the election campaign is well under way. Steve Webb was unanimously adopted as the Liberal Democrat parlaimentary candidate for the Thornbury and Yate constituency at a meeting of Lib Dem members in Chipping Sodbury Town Hall this week. Steve will be very busy for the next few weeks because quite apart from campaigning he's still the Minister of State for Pensions - the government doesn't finish until the election result is known.

Meanwhile local Lib Dems have been out on the streets talking to as many voters as possible, though you may well have seen us at other times - we make a real effort to keep in contact between elections, either on the doorstep or via our regular Focus and other leaflets.

If you would like to help Steve's campaign in a practical way you can email Steve on steve@stevewebb.org.uk or click here if you would like to make a financial donation to our campaign.

Are you registered to vote?

On Thursday 7th May we will be electing an MP, South Glos councillors and Parish Councillors. To vote in these elections you must be registered by Monday 20 April. Find out more on the South Glos website.

Don't lose your vote!

South Glos Council is writing to all households to clarify who is registered to vote. You should receive a letter in early February which will clarify if the electoral register information for your property is correct and if you need to take action to join the register.

To vote in the elections on 7 May 2015 you must be registered by Monday 20 April. If you’re not on the register, you won’t have a say in who represents you.

It is also necessary to register to vote if you wish to apply for credit. This is because credit reference agencies use the register to check where someone lives when they apply for credit in order to prevent fraud.

If you are a South Gloucestershire resident and your household hasn’t received a household information letter by the end of February then please contact the electoral services team by calling 01454 863030 or by emailing electoral.services@southglos.gov.uk

Steve Webb gets ministerial post

Steve Webb has become Minister of State in the Department for Work and Pensions.

Congratulations, Steve!

An excellent appointment - there aren't many people who know more about pensions than Steve does.

Full list of ministers from the Guardian here

Steve Webb writes about the coalition

Steve has written a detailed piece on his blog on the logic that led to the Con - Lib Dem coalition government, and what could have happened if other alternatives had been tried.

Read Steve's blog post in full here: A real rollercoaster

Steve Webb elected with 7000 majority, taking over half the vote

Steve Webb has been elected as the first MP for the new constituency of Thornbury and Yate with a majority of 7116 over the Conservatives, taking just over half the vote.

Full results:

Thomas Beacham (Independents Federation UK) 126
Anthony Clements (Independent) 58
Roxanne Egan (Labour) 3385
Jenny Knight (UKIP) 1709
Matthew Riddle (Conservative) 17916
Steve Webb (Liberal Democrat) 25032

Congratulations to Steve and all his team.

General Election candidates hustings in Frampton Cotterell 27th April

All the General Election candidates for the new Thornbury and Yate constutuency will be at the Zion Church, Woodend Road, Frampton Cotterell from 7.30 to 9.00 pm on Tuesday 27th April.

Undecided? Want to see the candidates in person? Please come along.

(With many thanks to all who organised this event.)

Facebook to encourage people to register to vote

The BBC reports that Facebook is working with the Electoral Commission to persuade people to sign up to vote if they're not already on the electoral roll.

Facebook users who visit the site over the weekend will be offered a link to a page that lets them enter details online.

The deadline for voter registration for the 6 May general election is 20 April - later than in previous elections.

It is estimated that more than 3 million potential voters may not be registered.

Polling stations

You will probably have received your polling cards for the forthcoming general election. If you live in the rural part of Dodington Parish, you may have noticed that your polling station is Westerleigh Village Hall, not Wapley Church as it was in the 2007 local elections. There is still time to get a postal vote if that would be easier for you - for more information see the South Glos website.