It now seems that the majority of residents who voted to support the scheme, as all wards in Kirkby returned Labour Party candidates into office in the May 2008 local government election. Opposers of the scheme point to overall votes (52% to 48%) to other parties and claimed this as a victory; however, they counted in this a newly formed political party to fight the campaign and other parties, including the Lib-Dems and Tories. All were beaten, with 1st 4 Kirkby missing out on gaining a council seat by 16 votes. At the original planning committee, four Lib-Dem councillors voted in favour of the proposals. The majority Labour Party candidates in the town general supported the development Ultimately the Secretary of State rejected the application outright on 26 November 2009 and so ended what was known as "Destination Kirkby".