Tiverton and Honiton

Nick Eardley
Political correspondent, reporting from Crediton

The Conservatives have just lost a seat which they have held since it was created in 1997.

You have to go back to the 1920s to find a non-Conservative MP for this area (in the old Tiverton seat).

Not only that, the Tories have just lost a colossal majority. The Conservatives won by more than 24,000 at the last election three years ago.

This result sets a new record - no majority that big has ever been overturned at a by-election until now. The fact the Liberal Democrat’s won by 6,000 votes makes the result all the more remarkable.

And It’s a big moment for the party. They finished third here in 2019 - but have now secured their third by-election gain of this parliament.

The others were in long-standing Conservative constituencies with previously comfortable majorities too.
The Lib Dems think more Tory heartlands are in their sights based on results like tonight’s.

There are likely to be some nervous Tory MPs this morning.
 
Andrew Segal
BBC South West

The new Liberal Democrat MP for Tiverton and Honiton says his win shows that voters think "enough is enough" of Boris Johnson's leadership.

Richard Foord said it was an "extraordinary and historic result which has sent a shockwave through British politics".

He said: "Tonight the people of Britain have spoken.

“They’ve sent a loud and clear message: It's time for Boris Johnson to go and go now.”

He said the prime minister had brought a state of "shame, chaos and neglect”.
He added: “By any measure you are unfit to lead, and the people of Tiverton and Honiton have said is enough is enough.
“The only decent course of action is to heed their call and resign.”


Who can argue against this? We already know the answer, Mr Johnson.
 
No Monster Raving Loony Party candidate in the South West….


Full result of Tiverton and Honiton by-election - Lib Dem gain from Conservatives
  • Richard Foord (LD) 22,537 (52.91%, +38.14%)
  • Helen Hurford (Con) 16,393 (38.49%, -21.72%)
  • Liz Pole (Lab) 1,562 (3.67%, -15.88%)
  • Gill Westcott (Green) 1,064 (2.50%, -1.34%)
  • Andy Foan (Reform) 481 (1.13%)
  • Ben Walker (UKIP) 241 (0.57%, -1.06%)
  • Jordan Donoghue-Morgan (Heritage) 167 (0.39%)
  • Frankie Rufolo (FB) 146 (0.34%)
  • LD maj 6,144 (14.43%)
  • 29.93% swing Con to LD
  • Electorate 81,661; Turnout 42,591 (52.16%)
  • 2019 Con maj 24,239
 
The Tories got kicked, hardly surprising but interesting to note the Labour party was also down by nearly 16%.
Tactical voting ?
Low turnouts, and mid term elections often provokes protest voting.
No doubt Boris will plough on, and now that he has ' won ' his confidence vote, can the Tories get rid of him in the next 12 months ?
Interesting to see how it develops.
 
Brauny said:
The Tories got kicked, hardly surprising but interesting to note the Labour party was also down by nearly 16%.
Tactical voting ?
Low turnouts, and mid term elections often provokes protest voting.
No doubt Boris will plough on, and now that he has ' won ' his confidence vote, can the Tories get rid of him in the next 12 months ?
Interesting to see how it develops.
Click to expand...
Seeing the Wakefield result as well it's a bit more than a protest vote. People are starting to see through all the BS and have had enough. I' m torn between hoping Johnson stays to ensure a landslide loss at the next GE and wanting him to resign before the country becomes even more of a mess.
 
Whilst there is no arguing that Johnson is a liability don't forget that the Wakefield by election was caused by the sitting MP being done for sexual assault and the Honiton on was because the MP was watching porn in parliament and was grassed up by his own side neither of which are the bumbling buffoon's fault
 
What? said:
Whilst there is no arguing that Johnson is a liability don't forget that the Wakefield by election was caused by the sitting MP being done for sexual assault and the Honiton on was because the MP was watching porn in parliament and was grassed up by his own side neither of which are the bumbling buffoon's fault
Click to expand...
No they weren't his fault but the voters have shown how they feel about the Tories with their votes.
 
It's a by election, people tend to revert to type in a general election And remember Labour were a very distant third in Honiton and the Liberals a distant third in Wakefield
 
Low turnouts and tactical/protest voting are the reasons for these results.
They won't be replicated at a General Election.
 
Club_B00k_Crutchless said:
Seeing the Wakefield result as well it's a bit more than a protest vote. People are starting to see through all the BS and have had enough. I' m torn between hoping Johnson stays to ensure a landslide loss at the next GE and wanting him to resign before the country becomes even more of a mess.
Click to expand...
I'd have liked to have seen him humiliated and sacked by his own party and to then disappear forever. Unfortunately I think he'll stil have a following and hang around like a bad smell like Farage.
 
What? said:
Whilst there is no arguing that Johnson is a liability don't forget that the Wakefield by election was caused by the sitting MP being done for sexual assault and the Honiton on was because the MP was watching porn in parliament and was grassed up by his own side neither of which are the bumbling buffoon's fault
Click to expand...
Both of which were Conservative MP’s. That’s not a great start to begin with.
 
But the local party chose the Wakefield guy, they must have known he was dodgy at the time. Losing you job for looking at porn seems a bit harsh (if it was a first offence) Especially when his own lot grassed him up
 
Oliver “Doubtful” Dowden resigned as Conservative Party Chairman early this morning. “We cannot carry on with ‘business as usual’. Someone has to take responsibility”!
 
What? said:
But the local party chose the Wakefield guy, they must have known he was dodgy at the time. Losing you job for looking at porn seems a bit harsh (if it was a first offence) Especially when his own lot grassed him up
Click to expand...
It was harsh to lose his job for looking at porn?
He was at work and surrounded by women, how uncomfortable nust that have made them feel when they saw what he was doing?
Deserved all he got imo.
 
What? said:
Losing you job for looking at porn seems a bit harsh (if it was a first offence) Especially when his own lot grassed him up
Click to expand...
I dunno where you've been for 20 years...

And he was caught twice. By female colleagues. Harsh?

You do have some strange perspectives at times. On one thread it seems you are ok to see people made redundant in the name of progress, but feel it's harsh when sacked for viewing porn (not to mention he was being paid with your/my money).
 
Do you know the actual circumstances of him being “caught”?

The rest of it is your usual made up imaginary nonsense your ability to read one thing but see something totally different is quite amazing
 
HughJanus said:
Do you know the actual circumstances of him being “caught”?

The rest of it is your usual made up imaginary nonsense your ability to read one thing but see something totally different is quite amazing
Click to expand...
Yes we know the actual circumstances because it is public record, and not disrupted by him.

I'm surprised that you're commenting on his resignation without taking the time to check...

If he was a train driver would you think it "harsh"?
 
The public record was (as I understand it) he was seen by two women who were sitting behind him. Now me being a forgiving sort of person would have thought that a discreet word, followed by a word with his boss if that failed but not making it public and then probably a final warning.
I would expect anyone in a safety critical job to give 100% concentration and of course a train driver works alone, requires the use of both hands and has to react to safety alerts very frequently so the comparison is not a good one but I’m sure there would be disciplinary procedure to go through and it would not be reported to the media
 
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