This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/oct/21/witney-byelection-lib-dems-tories-slashed-majority
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Witney byelection: Lib Dems resurgent as Tories hold on with slashed majority | Witney byelection: Lib Dems resurgent as Tories hold on with slashed majority |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The Liberal Democrats enjoyed their biggest swing in two decades in a surprise upset at the Witney by-election, leapfrogging Labour and Ukip to take second place. | The Liberal Democrats enjoyed their biggest swing in two decades in a surprise upset at the Witney by-election, leapfrogging Labour and Ukip to take second place. |
| The result in David Cameron’s former seat was still a comfortable win for the Conservative candidate, Robert Courts, a barrister and local councillor, but he won fewer than half of the 35,201 votes chalked up by the former prime minister in last year’s general election. | The result in David Cameron’s former seat was still a comfortable win for the Conservative candidate, Robert Courts, a barrister and local councillor, but he won fewer than half of the 35,201 votes chalked up by the former prime minister in last year’s general election. |
| After a short speech, in which he thanked his wife and family and praised his “brilliant” predecessor, Courts left the count without speaking to the press. | After a short speech, in which he thanked his wife and family and praised his “brilliant” predecessor, Courts left the count without speaking to the press. |
| Home Office minister Brandon Lewis said the party considered it a good result. “This is almost exactly the same as David Cameron got when he first stood. We’ve seen Labour crashing, Ukip crashing and the Lib Dems benefiting from that, but the reality is Robert’s got a very good majority and a clear win for the Conservatives.” He denied it was unusual for Courts to have left the count abruptly. | Home Office minister Brandon Lewis said the party considered it a good result. “This is almost exactly the same as David Cameron got when he first stood. We’ve seen Labour crashing, Ukip crashing and the Lib Dems benefiting from that, but the reality is Robert’s got a very good majority and a clear win for the Conservatives.” He denied it was unusual for Courts to have left the count abruptly. |
| But with the Conservatives down by 15.1 percentage points, and the Lib Dems up by 23.5, the result represented a 19.3% swing from the Tories to their former coalition partners. | But with the Conservatives down by 15.1 percentage points, and the Lib Dems up by 23.5, the result represented a 19.3% swing from the Tories to their former coalition partners. |
| The party claimed such a swing at a general election would snare an extra 26 seats from the Conservatives nationwide. | The party claimed such a swing at a general election would snare an extra 26 seats from the Conservatives nationwide. |
| If tonight's result was replicated at a General Election, we would gain 26 seats from the Conservatives. #WitneyByElection | If tonight's result was replicated at a General Election, we would gain 26 seats from the Conservatives. #WitneyByElection |
| Matt Singh, of Number Cruncher Politics, pointed out that a drop of 15 points for a governing party in a midterm byelecton was “about par”. | Matt Singh, of Number Cruncher Politics, pointed out that a drop of 15 points for a governing party in a midterm byelecton was “about par”. |
| What to make of the #WitneyByElection results? My thoughts:CON down 15 points is about par for a govt defence (ave since 1983 is -16pts)1/ | What to make of the #WitneyByElection results? My thoughts:CON down 15 points is about par for a govt defence (ave since 1983 is -16pts)1/ |
| Few would have bet against the Conservatives retaining this seat. Witney has had a Tory MP since its creation in 1983, and at no time has the candidate had less than 43% of the vote share. Courts scored 45.1%. | Few would have bet against the Conservatives retaining this seat. Witney has had a Tory MP since its creation in 1983, and at no time has the candidate had less than 43% of the vote share. Courts scored 45.1%. |
| However, as an affluent, liberal part of the country that recorded a strong remain vote in the EU referendum, senior Lib Dems saw west Oxfordshire as a test ground for more winnable seats. Though Cameron was an extremely popular local figure, Lib Dems hoped to capitalise on the fact that his successor had voted for Brexit. | However, as an affluent, liberal part of the country that recorded a strong remain vote in the EU referendum, senior Lib Dems saw west Oxfordshire as a test ground for more winnable seats. Though Cameron was an extremely popular local figure, Lib Dems hoped to capitalise on the fact that his successor had voted for Brexit. |
| They may have to wait a while longer for a more realistic test. Party figures had hoped for a snap byelection in Zac Goldsmith’s Richmond Park seat, with the Tory MP threatening to resign if Heathrow expansion is approved. That seat was held by the Lib Dems until 2010. | They may have to wait a while longer for a more realistic test. Party figures had hoped for a snap byelection in Zac Goldsmith’s Richmond Park seat, with the Tory MP threatening to resign if Heathrow expansion is approved. That seat was held by the Lib Dems until 2010. |
| Watching the count in the Windrush leisure centre on Thursday night, the Lib Dems’ home affairs spokesman, Alastair Carmichael, said the result should not be taken in isolation. “What we are getting very strongly here, as a part of the country that voted to remain, is that the idea of walking away from the single market, the unpleasantness from Amber Rudd at Tory conference, these things have not played will in a constituency like this. | Watching the count in the Windrush leisure centre on Thursday night, the Lib Dems’ home affairs spokesman, Alastair Carmichael, said the result should not be taken in isolation. “What we are getting very strongly here, as a part of the country that voted to remain, is that the idea of walking away from the single market, the unpleasantness from Amber Rudd at Tory conference, these things have not played will in a constituency like this. |
| “These people liked David Cameron, his brand of centre-right Conservatism and the modernity of it. And they look at what they’ve got now instead and they don’t like it.” | “These people liked David Cameron, his brand of centre-right Conservatism and the modernity of it. And they look at what they’ve got now instead and they don’t like it.” |
| In a constituency where the highest prize for the Lib Dems was likely to be second place, the party threw extensive resources into the fight, shipping down more than 1,000 activists one weekend and the Lib Dem leader, Tim Farron, visiting the constituency five times. | In a constituency where the highest prize for the Lib Dems was likely to be second place, the party threw extensive resources into the fight, shipping down more than 1,000 activists one weekend and the Lib Dem leader, Tim Farron, visiting the constituency five times. |
| In the hall as the count went on, several other candidates from more minor parties complained they had had a hostile reception on the doorstep, because locals complained of being besieged by Lib Dem canvassers. “I’m not sure if that might have actually put some people off,” one candidate grumbled. | In the hall as the count went on, several other candidates from more minor parties complained they had had a hostile reception on the doorstep, because locals complained of being besieged by Lib Dem canvassers. “I’m not sure if that might have actually put some people off,” one candidate grumbled. |
| The sheer numbers of Lib Dems canvassing in Witney meant Tory sources began briefing early that they were expecting to lose a significant share of the vote, and last Saturday Theresa May joined Cameron on the stump in Oxfordshire, breaking the convention that prime ministers do not campaign in byelections. | The sheer numbers of Lib Dems canvassing in Witney meant Tory sources began briefing early that they were expecting to lose a significant share of the vote, and last Saturday Theresa May joined Cameron on the stump in Oxfordshire, breaking the convention that prime ministers do not campaign in byelections. |
| Liz Leffman, the Lib Dem candidate, said the result was a “shot across the bow” of May. “People here don’t want to come out of the single market, they don’t want jobs at risk and that’s what we were voting on today. People who voted for me are traditional Conservatives, who have voted Conservative for decades. | Liz Leffman, the Lib Dem candidate, said the result was a “shot across the bow” of May. “People here don’t want to come out of the single market, they don’t want jobs at risk and that’s what we were voting on today. People who voted for me are traditional Conservatives, who have voted Conservative for decades. |
| “Mrs May is the new Ukip and people are not comfortable with a party lurching in that direction.” | “Mrs May is the new Ukip and people are not comfortable with a party lurching in that direction.” |
| Witney result:CON: 45.1% (-15.1)LDEM: 30.2% (+23.5)LAB: 15.0% (-2.2)GRN: 3.5% (-1.5)UKIP: 3.5% (-5.6) | |
| Labour’s candidate, local councillor Duncan Enright, slid to third, though party sources said vote share in Labour pockets had held up well. The party finished second in 2015, though still 25,000 votes behind David Cameron. Allies of Enright, who had called for Jeremy Corbyn to step down as Labour leader during the crisis in the party over the summer, said they had expected to fall behind the Lib Dems. | Labour’s candidate, local councillor Duncan Enright, slid to third, though party sources said vote share in Labour pockets had held up well. The party finished second in 2015, though still 25,000 votes behind David Cameron. Allies of Enright, who had called for Jeremy Corbyn to step down as Labour leader during the crisis in the party over the summer, said they had expected to fall behind the Lib Dems. |
| Green candidate Larry Sanders, brother of the US presidential challenger Bernie Sanders, beat Ukip for fourth place. | Green candidate Larry Sanders, brother of the US presidential challenger Bernie Sanders, beat Ukip for fourth place. |
| Courts won 17,313 votes to Leffman’s 11,611; Enright was third on 5,765, followed by Sanders with 1,363 and Ukip’s Dickie Bird on 1,354. | |
| In his victory speech, Courts, a barrister and local councillor, called Cameron “a great prime minister and a brilliant MP for west Oxfordshire … No matter who you were or who you voted for, he was always ready to help local people, and that is something I will strive to do in my time as member of parliament.” | In his victory speech, Courts, a barrister and local councillor, called Cameron “a great prime minister and a brilliant MP for west Oxfordshire … No matter who you were or who you voted for, he was always ready to help local people, and that is something I will strive to do in my time as member of parliament.” |