Eastleigh By-Election

The 2013 Eastleigh by-election has been dominating local press around Hampshire since Chris Huhne's resignation on the 4th February, following his guilty plea to a charge of perverting the course of justice.

Eastleigh has been thrown into a frenzy of political competition with each party handing out leaflets,   brandishing signs and banners whilst also attending local events and speaking to Eastleigh's voters.
The four main party contenders consist of  Liberal Democrats, Conservatives, Labour and UKIP who have all nominated popular candidates to push their party forwards in the election.
The well established defending party, the Liberal Democrats have nominated Eastleigh Borough councillor Mike Thornton to retain the seat due to his promising reputation as a local politician. The Lib Dems have run the council since first winning the election in Eastleigh however the recent controversy of Chris Huhne's implosion has been traumatic for the local party with some refusing to accept his guilt and others extremely angry.
The Conservative candidate, Maria Hutching's was chosen for the by election on 7th February, first coming to light in 2005 when she interrupted a live television phone-in with the then prime minister, Tony Blair. Hutching's views on reducing abortion term limits, life outside the EU and whether local state school are good enough have landed her in some controversy however she identifies herself as "pro-life" and claims that she is not a "Tory-toff".

Graphics created by myself

Labour have chosen author and broadcaster John O'Farrell as their candidate, a non politician who has beaten several others with far stronger local links to become the face of "One Nation Labour" in Eastleigh. Although Labour has had a shaky start with John O'Farrell admitting he did not know Labours policy on university tuition fees when launching his campaign at a local college, Labour are taking the contest seriously, throwing everything they have at it.
UKIP selected candidate Diane James, a councillor from Ewhurst in Surrey who was elected there as an independent. The party's previous leader, Nigel Farage contest the seat at a by-election in 1992 initially stating that he would consider standing again, however deciding against this decision due to too much media speculation.

As the votes are rolling in it seems that the Tories could be on track for a surprise victory, according to a poll taken on Saturday, 23rd of February. Research shows that the Conservatives are on 33%, four points ahead of the Liberal Democrats. 

The UKIP Party also appear to be performing well, giving its support as 21%, however they did suffer a recent blow on Friday night when one of its MEPs, Marta Andreasen announced she was defecting to the Conservatives.
Labour is not doing that well as they trail on 13%, the poll found.