The governing Tories have lost what was previously a safe seat in a by-election in Shropshire.
The election, for the North Shropshire seat, was held because of the resignation of Owen Paterson.
The by-election on Thursday saw the Tories’ vote share drop from 62.7% in the previous election, held in 2019, to 31.6%. The Liberal Democrats won 47.2%, up from 10%, meaning that their candidate, Helen Morgan, will now be the constituency’s representative in Westminster.
There were 12 other candidates, with Labour coming third with under 10% of the vote, down from over 20% in 2019.
The result was the seventh-biggest swing in a by-election in British history.
The defeat will be seen as a blow for Prime Minister Boris Johnson, with his party increasingly embroiled in controversies around corruption and breaking of lockdown rules by Tory politicians and staffers, including Johnson himself.
The chairperson of the Tories, Oliver Dowden, was quoted by the BBC as saying: ‘I know that the voters of North Shropshire are fed up and they wanted to give us a kicking… We’ve heard that message loud and clear.’
In her victory speech Morgan said: ‘Tonight, the people of North Shropshire have spoken on behalf of the British people. They have said loudly and clearly, “Boris Johnson, the party is over.” Your government, run on lies and bluster, will be held accountable. It will be scrutinised, it will be challenged and it can and will be defeated.’