It has been an embarrassing night for Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the Conservatives, with the Lib Dems overturning a huge 24,000 Tory majority to win the Tiverton and Honiton by-election.
The Tories also lost to Labour in Wakefield and Conservative Party chairman Oliver Dowden decided to quit after the results were announced.
What impact does this have on Herefordshire? Well the swing in Tiverton and Honiton was larger than the one that would be needed to see Jesse Norman (MP for Hereford & Herefordshire South) to lose his seat. Jesse Norman recently sent a letter of no confidence in to the Prime Minister and the result last night in Devon emphasises why many Tory ministers now believe that the Prime Minister must swiftly depart for them to have any chance of victory at the next general election.
Hereford and South Herefordshire 2019 Election Result
| Jesse Norman | Con | 30,390 | 61.2 | 7.7 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anna Coda | Lab | 10,704 | 21.6 | -2.2 |
| Lucy Hurds | LD | 6,181 | 12.5 | 5.4 |
| Diana Toynbee * | Green | 2,371 | 4.8 | 2.4 |
North Herefordshire 2019 Election Result
| Bill Wiggin | Con | 32,158 | 63.0 | 1.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Philip Howells | LD | 7,302 | 14.3 | 2.6 |
| Joe Wood | Lab | 6,804 | 13.3 | -5.6 |
| Ellie Chowns | Green | 4,769 | 9.3 | 3.8 |
The above results from 2019 clearly show that what appeared to be safe seats for both local Conservative MPs can no longer be classed as such.
With Herefordshire Council’s overall control being Green and Independent, it shows that the people of Herefordshire are willing to vote for alternative parties and Jesse Norman and Bill Wiggin will be well aware of this. The next few months will be very interesting.
