asdf wrote:
On Wed, 24 Jan 2007 14:00:41 +0000, thoss wrote:

Ah well, there's a surprise. The 3 councils concerned are all
Conservative controlled.

And why? Because last year the two Labour-controlled councils were
voted out because they supported the tram.

There was an overall national swing from Labour to Conservative. Is
there data to suggest that this particular change of control only
took place due to Labour voters changing their vote over the tram
issue?

I'm sure it was a major factor. The swing from Labour to Conservative
was 4% in London as a whole, but 10% in Ealing. The new council voted
*unanimously* to oppose the tram, with the remaining Labour councillors
effectively admitting that their previous policy of supporting the tram
was wrong. The Labour deputy leader on the council was reported as
saying "This [the tram] is something which has been very unpopular and
we accept that it has been a major factor in our defeat. The public have
decided this for all of us and we need to move on."
--
Richard J.
(to e-mail me, swap uk and yon in address)