How Britain voted: Briefing

Bernard Walsh was the most embarrassed local election candidate in the country yesterday after failing to register a single vote. Statisticians believe Mr Walsh has probably made British political history with his spectacular flop in Liverpool City Council's Dovecot ward. He is one of Liverpool's Ward Labour socialist breakaway group. He does not live in Dovecot so was unable to spare his own blushes by voting for himself.

JUST like their Dallas-based namesakes, the Scottish Ewings have made gaining power a family business. No fewer than four members of the clan stood for the Scottish National Party in Thursday's election, and three were successful. Winnie Ewing, now 69, will be the oldest member of the Scottish Parliament and preside over the swearing in ceremony and speaker's election on Wednesday. She has also been a Westminster MP, for Hamilton between 1967 and 1970. Among those being sworn in will be the veteran's son Fergus, 41, who won the Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber seat by just 441 votes over Labour. Fergus's wife Margaret, 53, is the SNP's leader at Westminster and MP for Moray since 1997. Now she holds the same seat in the Scottish Parliament, though with a reduced majority. Annabelle, 38, who failed to get elected either as a first-past-the-post candidate in Stirling or on the Mid-Scotland list. She founded the branch of the party in Brussels, where she is a lawyer.

David Felton the Labour candidate in the Newbold ward of Rochdale council, was posting leaflets when a Rottweiler bit through to the bone of his left index finger. He returned to campaigning with a plaster on the damaged digit after being told he faced a three and a half-hour wait for hospital treatment and went on to win the seat.