ELECTION DAY BLOG: Conservatives win in Yeovil

AFTER weeks of campaigning by candidates the moment has arrived for people to vote in the General Election and local council elections. Follow our blog of election events on Thursday (May 7, 2015) and the results when they are announced tomorrow (Friday, May 8, 2015) here in Yeovil, around Somerset and the rest of the country.

FRIDAY, MAY 8, 2015: 5.55am: YEOVIL RESULT:

Marcus Fysh (Conservative) – 24,178.

Sheena King (Labour) – 4,053.

David Laws (Liberal Democrat) – 18,865.

Emily McIvor – (Green Party) – 2,191.

Simon Smedley – (UK Independence Party) – 7,646.

Marcus Fysh has been elected as the MP for the Yeovil Constituency.

PHOTO - TOP: Marcus Fysh arrives at Westlands for the General Election count.

 FRIDAY, MAY 8, 2015: 5.42am: SOMERTON & FROME RESULT:

Ian Paul Angell (Independent) – 365.

Alan Dimmick (UK Independence Party) – 6,439.

David Alan Oakensen (Labour) – 4,419.

David Rendel (Liberal Democrat) – 11,692.

Theo Simon (Green Party) – 5,434.

David Warburton (Conservative) – 31,960.

David Warburton has been elected as the MP for the Somerton & Frome Constituency.

PHOTO - ABOVE: Somerton and Frome MP David Warburton and his wife Harriet at Westlands.

 FRIDAY, MAY 8, 2015: 4am: Acting returning officer, Ian Clarke, announced the verification figures for both the Yeovil and the Somerton & Frome constituencies.

The electorate of Somerton & Frome totalled 83,281 and there were 60,477 votes cast to represent a 72.62 per cent turnout.

Yeovil’s electorate was 82,447 and there were 57,096 votes cast – a 69.25 per cent turnout.

FRIDAY, MAY 8, 2015: 3.34am: Acting returning officer, Ian Clarke, said the count in the Somerton & Frome constituency was about to start.

A number of ballot boxes in the Yeovil constituency are still being verified.

FRIDAY, MAY 8, 2015: 3am: CONSERVATIVE candidate for the Somerton & Frome constituency, David Warburton, has arrived at Westlands for the count with his wife Harriet.

FRIDAY, MAY 8, 2015: 2.19am: THE Liberal Democrats are already admitting it is going to be a bad night for them.

An exit poll predicts that the LibDems will see their number of MPs fall by 47 to just ten.

The BBC has reported that under threat could be high-profile LibDem members Danny Alexander, Vince Cable, Ed Davey and Yeovil’s David Laws.

FRIDAY, MAY 8, 2015: 2.15am: STILL no news at Westlands with no imminent results being announced for either the Yeovil constituency or the Somerton & Frome constituency elections.

It does look very close in Yeovil between the LibDem candidate David Laws and his Conservative rival Marcus Fysh.

Neither of them have arrived yet at the count.

It is expected that they will emerge into the main ballroom here at Westlands when a result is imminent.

The Conservatives, meanwhile, look on course to win the Somerton & Frome constituency from the LibDems.

FRIDAY, MAY 8, 2015: 01.02am: ALTHOUGH there is still some way to go yet before the result is announced for the Yeovil Constituency, there appears to be growing optimism among Conservatives that they are going to take the seat from the Liberal Democrats.

It would mirror the national picture in which exit polls have suggested the Tories coming close to gaining a majority at Westminster with 316 seats, with Labour coming second on 239 ahead of SNP with 58 and the LibDems with just ten.

The Yeovil declaration here at Westlands is expected at around 2pm.

The Somerton & Frome result, also expected to be a close call between the Conservatives and LibDems, is expected at 2.30pm.

FRIDAY, MAY 7, 2015: 00.48am: CAT LATEST: The excitement of the election count has got to the Westland moggy and is having a cat-nap.

THURSDAY, MAY 7, 2015: 11.52pm: STILL frantic counting going on here at Westlands in both the Yeovil and the Somerton & Frome constituency counts.

It looks as if it is going to be a long night and it is going to be close……

The pundits have been predicting a close battle nationally, although there are suggestions that the Conservatives will be the largest party based on exit polls.

But it looks as if it could be very close here in the Yeovil constituency with anxious looks from Liberal Democrat and Conservative supporters.

No sign yet here of either the LibDems’ David Laws, looking to gain a fourth term as Yeovil MP, or Conservative candidate Marcus Fysh.

THURSDAY, MAY 7, 2015: 10.50pm: THERE is plenty of interest from the sidelines as the counting gets underway - even that of a cat (pictured above) which has somehow wandered into the main ballroom here at Westlands.

THURSDAY, MAY 7, 2015: 10.30pm: AMONG the early arrivals at Westlands for the count are Labour candidate Sheena King for the Yeovil Constituency and Emily McIvor, of the Green Party, also for the Yeovil Constituency.

THURSDAY, MAY 7, 2015: 10.25pm: IT is very busy at Westlands with the verification process in full swing and ballot boxes from around the area arriving.

THURSDAY, MAY 7, 2015: 10.15pm: DECLARATIONS for the General Election results of the Yeovil Constituency and the Somerton & Frome Constituency will be announced by the High Sheriff, Lucy Nelson, on the main stage at the Westland leisure complex.

THURSDAY, MAY 7, 2015: 10.10pm: THE estimated declaration time of the Yeovil Constituency in the General Election will be given between 1.30am and 2am tomorrow (Friday, May 8, 2015), with the Somerton and Frome Constituency result announced at about 2.30am.

THURSDAY, MAY 7, 2015: 10.05pm: VERIFICATION of Parliamentary and South Somerset District Council votes has started.

The counting of Parliamentary votes is expected to start by 11pm. Counting of the district council votes will start at 10am tomorrow (Friday, May 8, 2015) and the counting of the town/parish council votes will begin as soon as the district council count has been concluded.

THURSDAY, MAY 7, 2015: 10pm: THE polling stations will be closing.

THURSDAY, MAY 7, 2015: 8.30pm: THERE are just 90 minutes left for people to cast their votes in today's ballots in the General Election and local elections.

Polling stations will close at 10pm tonight. So if you have not voted yet - best make sure you do.

THURSDAY, MAY 7, 2015: 7.44pm: THERE have been 350 polling station staff working today in the local elections, while there will be 150 count staff at Westlands tonight.

THURSDAY, MAY 7, 2015: 7.33pm: THE counting of votes and the announcement of General Election results for the Yeovil Constituency and Somerton & Frome Constituency will be announced in the early hours of tomorrow (Friday, May 8, 2015) morning at Westland leisure complex in Yeovil.

The counting of votes and announcement from South Somerset District Council and local town/parish council elections will be later in the day tomorrow.

THURSDAY, MAY 7, 2015: 6.15pm: THERE are elections being held today on 26 town and parish councils/wards in the South Somerset district.

There are 102 parish and town council/wards in total in South Somerset.

THURSDAY, MAY 7, 2015: 3pm: THERE are unconfirmed reports of a "huge turnout" at the polling station at the Abbey Manor Community Centre in Yeovil.

The Yeovil Press has heard that extra ballot boxes have been drafted into the polling station to meet the high demand.

The community centre is acting as a polling station for the General Election and the local elections of South Somerset District Council and Brympton Parish Council.

THURSDAY, MAY 7, 2015: 1.15pm: THERE are 60 seats available in 39 wards in today’s election for South Somerset District Council.

The current make-up of the council is as follows: Liberal Democrat 31; Conservative 25; Independent 4.

THURSDAY, MAY 7, 2015: 12.05pm: The Yeovil Press team went and cast its votes at their registered polling station at the Abbey Manor Community Hall.

The polling station was busy with plenty of people coming and going to cast their votes.

Voters were given three voting slips - 1: General Election to select one from five candidates; 2: South Somerset District Council to select two from five candidates; 3: Brympton Parish Council to select 11 from 12 candidates.

THURSDAY, MAY 7, 2015: 9.18am: THE result of today’s General Election result in the Yeovil Constituency could rest very much on the voting turnout.

A whopping 74.42 per cent of the 82,314 Yeovil electorate voted at the last election of May 6, 2010.

Result at the last Yeovil Constituency election in 2010 was as follows: David Laws (Liberal Democrats) 31,843; Kevin David (Conservative) 18,807; Lee Skevington (Labour) 2,991; Nigel Pearson (UK Independence Party) 2,357; Robert Baehr (British National Party) 1,162.

THURSDAY, MAY 7, 2015: 9.15am: THERE are 155 polling stations in South Somerset and 62 being run by Mendip District Council for their portion of the Somerton and Frome constituency.

THURSDAY, MAY 7, 2015: 8.55am: THESE were the crowds waiting in the Borough and High Street, Yeovil, for the results to be announced of the 1910 General Election.

Local historian Bob Osborn, who posted this photo (above) on social networking Facebook, said tongue-in-cheek: “I wonder if today’s results will be so eagerly anticipated.”

For more local history check out Bob’s website at www.yeovilhistory.info/ .

Back then South Somerset was a county constituency which returned one MP into the House of Commons.

The 1910 election in South Somerset saw Liberal candidate Sir Edward Strachey beat Conservative rival Aubrey Herbert by 4,784 votes to 4,317.

Sir Edward had been Liberal MP since 1892, but was raised to the peerage as Baron Strachie, of Sutton   Court, and accepted a seat in the House of Lords which meant a by-election in November 1911.

This time Aubrey Herbert was successful in winning the South Somerset seat for the Conservatives from 1911-18 and then for the Yeovil constituency from 1918 to his death in 1923.

THURSDAY, MAY 7, 2015: 8.36am: HOPING to win YOUR votes in the Yeovil Constituency at the General Election in today’s ballot are (in alphabetical order): Marcus Fysh (Conservative); Sheena King (Labour); David Laws (Liberal Democrats); Emily McIvor (Green Party); and Simon Smedley (UK Independence Party).

THURSDAY, MAY 7, 2015: 7am: THE polls have opened this morning for people to vote in the General Election and local elections.

While most eyes will be on the General Election nationally and who claims the keys to Number 10, there is big interest here and who wins locally in the Yeovil constituency.

There are also various seats available to be won on South Somerset District Council and various town and parish councils.

The polls opened at 7am and will remain open until 10pm tonight for people to cast their votes.

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Elections.