So, the results are in...

...and they weren't for me. That said, 298 votes is a lot more than I dared expect, and I only just missed out on beating the Lib Dem into fourth place. Best wishes to the re-elected councillors- John Squire and Basil Cane- for the next four years and thanks to those people who did vote for me.

There are several things that struck me about the results: first of all, most people either voted for both Conservative candidates or only one of the others- which suggests that they either didn't want to vote for more than one (and wanted to maximise their candidate's chance) or they were using it as an anti-Tory protest vote: the non-Conservative candidates got roughly the same number of votes combined.

Secondly, the willingness of people to vote for candidates who did no campaigning at all, either because of tribal political loyalty or because they see local elections as a way of passing a verdict on government. Admittedly, I could-and should- have done more, but it amazes me that some candidates take an election so lightly that they don't bother and still get a fair few votes.

Finally, when they were shaking the ballot boxes out and sorting the papers into bundles, it was apparent that a substantial chunk of the votes in Brixton weren't for the two winning candidates- far less so in the other two boxes- which suggests that an election in Brixton would be far closer than it would be in a combined Wembury and Brixton ward: there could be a number of reasons for this. Given the willingness people in Yealmpton and Newton and Noss showed in booting out sitting parties, it might have led to a completely different result.