COMMENT: One can’t help but think Liberal Democrats in Watford will be breathing a big sigh of relief this morning.

Yes, they held on to the seat vacated in controversial circumstances by sitting councillor Sheila Smillie, but only by a margin of 74 votes.

As many will recall, Councillor Smillie quit after deciding to extend a family holiday in Florida and seek employment in the sunshine state.

The problem for local Lib Dems is that she continued to claim her councillor’s allowance, leading to Labour opponents to feign outrage when it truth they haven’t exactly been paragons of virtue in this respect.

Still, foolishly, rather than buttonholing the errant councillor and persuading her to repay the entire allowance, they set out to knock Labour off the moral higher ground and defend the indefensible.

Whether it was the result of Sheila Smillie’s actions or being odd bedfellows in the coalition government, the Lib Dems came close to losing the seat last night.

Bear in mind Labour haven’t triumphed in Central Ward for many years and the 2003 poll saw Sheila Smillie winning her seat by a margin of 257 votes and there does appear to have been one hell of a swing to Labour.

So, what with the angst and soul searching caused by tuition fees, Liberal Democrats have seen better weeks, locally and nationally.

Central Ward by-election Result: Liberal Democrats 696; Labour 622; Conservatives 158; Greens 79; UKIP 24.