LAST WEEK’S national Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) Steering Committee meeting received a full report of how TUSC candidates have performed in council by-elections they have contested during 2013.

The report is now available on the TUSC website: 2013 council by-elections

During the year TUSC candidates stood in 37 local council by-elections. Their mean average share of the vote across those seats was 5.2%.

Over 73,000 people cast a vote in the by-elections contested by TUSC. That’s not a comprehensive opinion survey. But it is not entirely insignificant in measuring what response TUSC’s anti-austerity message can achieve, even without any national media coverage.

Other notable features of the results include:

■ A TUSC candidate was victorious in one contest, in the Maltby by-election in March. The next best result was the 27.6% recorded in the Fleetwood by-election in September.

■ There was a Green Party candidate in 22 of the council by-elections contested by TUSC (including one of their seats in Green-led Brighton). The Green Party’s average mean share of the vote in those seats was 6.5%, certainly comparable to the TUSC performance.

■ The average mean share of the vote for the BNP (with candidates in seven of the 37 seats) was 3%; for the Liberal Democrats, one of the ‘parties of government’, it was 11% in 27 seats; and for UKIP 16% in 28 seats.

■ There were some obviously disappointingly low votes amongst the results. But while it is not a consolation for the candidates concerned, it should be noted that there were 28 Labour candidates in council by-elections from May who also polled double-digit votes or single-figure percentage scores.

TUSC has now stood 622 candidates since its formation in 2010, wining a total of 106,725 votes. The council by-elections contested in 2013 continued to add to that electoral record, modest though it still is, and thanks are due to all those who were prepared to stand.

This May TUSC is aiming to field the biggest ever number of left-of-Labour candidates in local council elections. Why don’t you join in? An application form to be a TUSC candidate is available on the TUSC website at https://www.tusc.org.uk/candidates.php

The TUSC website also has full reports of all TUSC results in local elections in 2011, 2012 and in this year’s 2013 county council elections (see Previous Elections Results on the Candidates page).