Preston Respect Councillor Michael Lavalette won his seat in Preston Town Centre ward by a landslide in the local elections in May. After Respect candidate Mukhtar Master lost by only seven votes in the ward in 2006, Lavalette turned this around winning over 50% of the vote this year with a margin of over 400 votes over his Labour Party opponent. Turnout increased to over 50%, a level virtually unheard in urban areas in Britain for local elections. He first won the seat four years ago as ‘Socialist Alliance against the War’ against a pro-war muslim Labour Party incumbent and many critics claimed that Respect could not repeat this result. In fact Respect more than exceeded it, as Lavalette’s personal vote more than doubled despite his opponent having a strong muslim background and living in the ward. There were several keys to the success – systematic work over four years within the ward around local issues, a broadening of Respect from just an ‘anti-war muslim party of protest’, the endorsement of several key figures from Labour (and also environmental campaigners) including former Labour council leader Valerie Wise, and the mobilisation of an army of supporters from across the country. Canvassing was done more systematically than previously and Respect spoke to over 75% of the total electorate, with a degree of electoral organisation not previously seen by the far left outside the Labour Party.
Cost
However, Lavalette’s victory came at a cost to Respect in broadening out its appeal beyond Preston Town Centre ward. No canvassing was organised in the other two neighbouring winnable wards that were contested – St Matthews and Riversway. Here, the Respect vote also increased, by around 2%, to hold second place, but the Labour candidates took the wards comfortably. The margin of Lavalette’s victory was more than enough to win either ward from Labour. Respect did poorly in the University ward winning only 37 votes, with most of the student protest vote going to the Liberal Democrats. Respect did not defend the seat held by former Labour councillor Steven Brooks who defected to Respect in 2005, meaning that Respect only has a solitary councillor on Preston City Council compared to two previously. However, the Respect vote in both Town Centre and Riversway was sufficient to win the seat on Lancashire County Council made up on these two wards that will be up for election in 2009.
Across North West England, a region with a larger population than Scotland, Respect stood outside of Preston in just one ward in Manchester, where there was a slight fall back in votes compared to 2006, as North West Respect supporters moved into Preston Town Centre ward en masse. Respect declined to stand candidates in either Blackburn or Liverpool, both of which had modest but successful scores of over 10% in local elections in 2006 and had produced promising scores for Respect in the 2004 Euro elections. Undoubtedly, the Socialist Workers Party, of which Lavalette is a leading member, played a major role in both limiting the campaign and mobilising support to Preston Town Centre ward. In an earlier phase of the campaign, SWP members actually opposed standing in Riversway ward, despite it being Respect’s second best Preston results, for fear of diverting resources from Lavalette’s ward. To a certain extent Lavalette felt the weight of the expectation of the entire SWP on his shoulders. The SWP moved a full timer into Preston some months ago, though it was made clear that that was so long as Lavalette remained on the council.
By contrast to the North West, in Yorkshire and the Midlands, Respect stood a wider range of candidates than previously and was rewarded with a new seat in Bolsover, and good results in newly contested wards in Birmingham, Halifax, Sheffield and Leicester.
Confused
There were also confused messages for Respect supporters in other Preston wards. At a public meeting in the city in a speech broadcast on the internet, George Galloway denounced anyone who voted Labour anywhere in Preston in apocalyptic terms, despite the fact that most local Respect members had little choice but to vote Labour as there were so few Respect candidates. In fact, there is still the remnants of a left wing within the Preston Labour Party and a few of the councillors and candidates are principled left wingers, supporters of John McDonnell, who risk being alienated from Respect by this sectarian broadside.
The Greens stood a solitary candidate in Preston against Lavalette in what was seen as an orchestrated sectarian intervention. Their vote fell back as most Green sympathisers were won over by Lavalette’s campaigning record on environmental issues such as transport. Given that Respect stood against a sitting Green councillor in Sheffield, there is a strong case for Respect renewing the attempt at negotiation and discussion over electoral tactics with the Green Party.
Challenge
There will be further challenges for Respect in the forthcoming Preston local elections in May 2008. The key target will be to aim for winning another seat in Preston Town Centre ward when the weaker of the Labour councillors will be defending his seat. Mukhtar Master will undoubtedly be a strong challenger for Respect and a victory would be a significant consolidation and step forward. However there will be four further winnable seats up for election and a strong Respect challenge in one or more is also necessary, if Respect is not to be ghettoised as a party of protest constrained to just one ward. Beyond that lies the County and European elections in 2009 and the general election. Valerie Wise is currently considering declaring a candidacy for the Preston parliamentary constituency, against Blairite MP, Mark Hendrick, though whether she will stand as a Respect candidate remains to be seen as she is not believed to be a member. Whether it is Wise or Lavalette who stands in the general election, it is necessary to stand Respect candidates more widely and develop more sophisticated local organisation to maximise support. The breakthrough of winning over more Labour councillors in the North West, claimed by Galloway as imminent at the 2006 Respect conference, will only be credible if Respect has a broader appeal to those currently still supporting the Labour Party. This requires the leading forces in Respect, particularly Galloway and the SWP, to change their orientation towards standing candidates, to professionalise Respect and make it function more as an organised and democratic party, rather than a stage army that can be moved at whim to wherever the next campaign demands. This may seem harsh criticism after such a significant victory, but learning lessons of the campaign is crucial to further progress for Respect.
Elsewhere
Elsewhere in the North West, the Green Party in Lancaster made significant advances despite its coalition with Labour and Liberal Democrats. The Greens also won a seat for the first time in Liverpool, with a defector from the Liberal Democrats. The Community Action Party, a breakaway from the Labour Party in Wigan, managed to hold several seats and in Preston itself, ‘Labour Independent’ Joyce Cartwright successfully held on to her Deepdale seat.
Liam redux 
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