George Owers, a history postgraduate at Jesus College, has won the Coleridge seat for Labour in a recently-held by-election.

The seat at Coleridge, a notoriously marginal ward, provoked a fierce campaign battle between Labour and the Conservatives. However, the vote-count on November 4th revealed a significant swing away from the 2008 Conservative majority, with Labour winning 900 votes to the Conservative’s 734.

The by-election was called after the sudden resignation of the prior Conservative councillor, Chris Howell. Howell complained that it had been “impossibly difficult” to make progress, stating that “that commensurable ‘job-satisfaction’ in being a councillor [has] all but vanished”.

The defeat of the Conservatives at Coleridge means that there are currently no Conservative seats in Cambridge, a fact which is being celebrated by Labour supporters throughout the city.

Owers has commented that he is “hugely glad to be the person who made Cambridge a Tory-free zone”.

Support for the Liberal Democrats in Coleridge also saw a notable decline from the election in May this year, in spite of Julian Huppert’s strong involvement in the campaign.

Liberal Democrat votes slid dramatically from 25 per cent to 11 per cent, a slump which CULC Chair, Ashley Walsh, attributes to apparent policy ‘backsliding’ within the coalition.

“Progressive Liberal Democrat voters have been utterly betrayed by Nick Clegg and the other coalition cheerleaders”, Walsh commented. “They just did not vote for this”.

This perceptible loss of public confidence in the party is in line with national polls, which demonstrate a steady level of support for both the Conservative and the Labour party, whilst showing a decline in the popularity of the Liberal Democrats.

Walsh says that Labour’s success at Coleridge is “testament to George’s campaign, to the huge numbers who campaign for him, and to the public’s view on the coalition’s austerity programme”.

He also views the unprecedented swing in Labour’s favour as a positive response to the new party leader, Ed Miliband, and a broad rejuvenation of the party’s image and policies.

Walsh asserted that “the positive message being developed by Labour’s new generation is starting to resonate with voters. With Ed Miliband as our new leader, Labour is improving and changing its policies so it once again connects properly with the hardworking majority in British society”.

At the age of 21, Owers is set to become the youngest Councillor in Cambridge, having already run for council three times in previous years, both in the Abbey and the Market wards in Cambridge and in his Essex hometown.

Describing his work over the coming year, Owers commented, “Having spoken to over 1,000 local residents in the last month, I know their priorities and will get to work for them on the for more affordable housing, tackling anti-social behaviour, and getting council action on dozens of local issues like commuter parking.

“Cambridge Labour councillors have their work cut out, but working with residents we will lead a wider campaign to expose and campaign to reverse the worst coalition policies”.