UK Conservatives lose the North Shropshire seat they held for nearly 200 years

UK Conservatives lose the North Shropshire seat they held for nearly 200 years
December 17, 2021, 9:08 am

UK parliament-Big Ben/Pixabay

The BBC reporetd that the Conservatives have lost the North Shropshire seat they held for nearly 200 years to the Liberal Democrats.

The by-election followed the resignation of former MP Owen Paterson who was found to have breached parliamentary rules on lobbying, and had held a majority of nearly 23,000.

New MP Helen Morgan secured a majority of 5,925 - on a 34% swing to the Lib Dems, with a turnout of 46.2%.

The defeat caps a week of challenges for the prime minister.

Ms Morgan, who stood for the Liberal Democrats in the 2019 general election, said it meant the "party was over" for Boris Johnson.

She thanked the people of North Shropshire "not just for putting your faith in me to be your champion in Parliament" but for the "hard work and sacrifices you have made over the past two years to get our communities through this awful pandemic".

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There were a total of 14 candidates standing in Thursday's election.

The result came just days after Boris Johnson experienced his biggest rebellion in office when 100 Tory MPs voted against the government's proposals to update Covid restrictions in England.

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It is the second by-election loss of a former Tory stronghold to the Liberal Democrats since the general election. In July, the party seized Chesham and Amersham with a 25% swing.

Source: BBC

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