Tories slump to third place and Lib Dem support up as Labour win by-election
2 min read
Labour easily retained one of their safest Westminster seats as a surge in Lib Dem support saw the Conservatives pushed into third place.
Janet Daby was elected MP for Lewisham East in a by-election sparked by the resignation of former Shadow Health Secretary Heidi Alexander, but with a significantly reduced majority.
Ms Alexander had won the seat at last year's general election with a majority of more than 21,000 over her Tory rival.
But a swing of 19 points from Labour to the Lib Dems saw Conservative candidate Ross Archer slump to third with just 3,161 votes.
Ms Daby received 11,033 votes with the the Lib Dems' Lucy Salek receiving 5,404, giving Labour a majority of 5,629. Turnout was 33.2%.
Ms Daby said: "I want to say thanks to the people of Lewisham East for putting their trust in me to be their voice in Westminster. I'm so proud to be Lewisham East's first black MP.
"It's been a hard contest but I've enjoyed every minute of it and I can't wait to start making a difference on transport, on housing and in defending our NHS.
"This result is another message to the Tories that their programme of austerity is not working. We will not stand for it, and we will not stand for their chaotic and incompetent approach to Brexit."
Lib Dem leader Vince Cable said the results "sends a message to the Labour leadership that it cannot take pro-European voters for granted".
He said: "Lucy Salek and the Liberal Democrats have fought a proud, pro-European campaign and have seen former Labour and Conservative voters switching support and rallying behind our campaign.
"This is the largest swing from Labour to the Liberal Democrats in over a decade and the failure of Labour’s leadership to oppose the Conservatives hard Brexit cannot be hidden or forgotten. The collapse in the Conservatives’ vote is also damning.
"The Liberal Democrats are the only party standing up to Theresa May on Brexit. She is making a mess out of it, and we will keep fighting to give the people the final say on the Brexit deal."
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