The Tory strategy set out by Martin Bright (17 October), based on using a breakthrough in Hackney as a model for inner-city advances elsewhere, is a bit past its sell-by date. Yes, the Tories did win a council by-election in January in Queensbridge ward (in idiosyncratic circumstances). However, since then there has been a second by-election, in Hoxton, a ward Labour never held between 1978 and 2002. This saw Labour beat the Tories by just under 800 votes.

In fact, the Tory position in Hackney is worse now than it was 10 years ago when they held three seats in Shoreditch, while the Lib Dems have been reduced from 16 seats to a rump of just three. If you were to draw any conclusions, they would be that when Labour focuses on the concerns of the core vote on estates, encourages talented women, ethnic minority and young candidates to stand, and promotes common-sense solutions to a failing council, the Lib Dem tide can be reversed in inner cities.

Cllr Luke Akehurst
Hackney Labour Group
London N16

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