Local election review: Crawley

Whether you are looking at local or parliamentary elections, electoral politics in Crawley are currently dominated by a battle between the two main parties: Labour and the Conservatives.

In parliamentary terms Crawley was for many years a solidly Conservative seat - though more because the town wasn't big enough for a seat of its own and so took in most of what is now Nicholas Soames' Sussex Mid. The growth of Crawley meant the loss of more rural and nearby commuter belt towns and the national swing in 1997 ensured Laura Moffat took the seat for Labour. She retained the seat comfortably in 2001 but held on by the smallest margin in the 2005 election: just 37 votes. A comprehensive Conservative victory two years ago took the seat back into the Conservative fold.

Labour has a better track record in local elections in Crawley, running the council from 1973 until 2006. A period of Conservative control since then was punctuated by a time in which no party held overall control. That outcome seems unlikely as a result of this year’s elections, especially as it seems certain that all 37 seats will continue to be held by the two main parties.

Labour and the Conservatives are defending four and nine seats respectively. Of the Conservative seats up for election, Maidenblower and the two Pound Hill wards can all be listed as safe for the Conservatives. Three Bridges, whilst not safe, is certainly a Labour long shot with the Conservatives enjoying a near 400 vote majority in this ward in 2011.

Labour’s best prospects lie in the four Conservative wards of Gossops Green, Ifield, Southgate and Tilgate. Ifield switched back to Labour in the 2011 local elections, although only by 38 votes. Labour isn’t taking another gain here for granted and is campaigning hard in the ward, as demonstrated by the recent visit of party deputy leader, Harriet Harman. In Southgate, Tilgate and Gossops Green Labour will be hoping to fare better than it did 12 months ago, when the Conservatives retained all three seats by fewer than 100 votes (& in the case of Gossops Green, by just 5). Three wards could be determined by as few as two hundred votes – something both parties recognise as they campaign hard to get out their vote.

With a 24-13 Conservative advantage on the council, Labour seems unlikely to retake control of Crawley in two weeks time. But posting gains in target wards like Tilgate and Southgate will demonstrate that Labour in Crawley has regained its winning ways and that will encourage the party as it turns its attention to the parliamentary contest of 2015.