2023 Somerton and Frome by-election

A by-election for the United Kingdom parliamentary constituency of Somerton and Frome took place on 20 July 2023, following the resignation of the incumbent MP David Warburton on 17 June.

2023 Somerton and Frome by-election
20 July 2023
Somerton and Frome constituency
Turnout44.2% (Decrease31.4 pp)
  First party Second party Third party
 
Candidate Sarah Dyke Faye Purbrick Martin Dimery
Party Liberal Democrats Conservative Green
Popular vote 21,187 10,739 3,944
Percentage 54.6% 26.2% 10.2%
Swing Increase28.4 pp Decrease29.6 pp Increase5.1 pp
MP before election

David Warburton
Conservative

 Elected MP

Sarah Dyke
Liberal Democrats

It was the first by-election in Somerset since the 1970 Bridgwater by-election.[1] The seat was won by the Liberal Democrat candidate Sarah Dyke.[2]

Background

Somerton and Frome is a rural constituency in Somerset in the South West of England. The constituency includes the market towns of Somerton, Frome, Castle Cary, Langport, Wincanton, Templecombe, Bruton and Martock.[3] Frome, the largest community in the seat, acts as a small commercial centre for the surrounding areas.

The constituency had been held by Liberal Democrat David Heath from 1997 to 2015, and was considered to be one of the party's traditional strongholds in the rural West Country.[4][5] David Warburton was elected as the constituency's MP following the 2015 general election, securing the country's biggest swing to the Conservative Party amidst a nationwide collapse in the Liberal Democrat vote. He retained his seat with a majority of over 19,000 votes following the 2019 general election, though with a modest swing towards the Liberal Democrats.[6]

David Warburton was the MP for Somerton and Frome until his resignation in 2023

In April 2022, Warburton had the Conservative whip suspended following three allegations of sexual harassment pending investigation by the Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme.[7] He was admitted to a psychiatric hospital the same month for shock and stress.[8] That November, Warburton was found to have breached the MP's code of conduct.[9][10] The Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, Kathryn Stone, found that there were two breaches of the code, but that they had been rectified after Warburton wrote to Stone "acknowledging and apologising".[11]

In January 2023, Warburton revealed his intention to seek re-election at the next general election.[12][13] The following month, Frome Town Council unanimously passed a vote of no confidence in Warburton.[14] Councillors accused him of failing to hold constituency surgeries since his suspension, which he denied.[12] In April, calls were made for Warburton to resign after a year of absence from Parliament.[15]

On 17 June 2023, Warburton announced his intention to resign to The Mail on Sunday, citing his feeling that the parliamentary watchdog denied him a fair hearing over claims he harassed two women.[6][16][17][18] He admitted to taking cocaine after drinking whisky with a third woman. Warburton formally resigned from Parliament on 19 June.[19]

The by-election took place on 20 July 2023,[20] the same day as by-elections in Uxbridge and South Ruislip and Selby and Ainsty.[18] They were the first by-elections being defended by the Conservatives under Rishi Sunak.

Campaign

According to The Observer, Liberal Democrat insiders claimed that internal canvassing data showed the Conservatives narrowly in first place, on 42%, and the Liberal Democrats in second with 39.5%.[21]

Three days before the by-election, The Guardian published an editorial supporting the Liberal Democrat candidate.[5] Party leader Ed Davey visited the seat six times during the campaign.[22]

Candidates

Eight candidates contested the by-election.[23]

The victorious candidate Liberal Democrat Sarah Dyke was selected as the prospective parliamentary candidate for the constituency in May 2022.[24]

The Conservatives chose Yeovil Town Councillor and Somerset County Councillor Faye Purbrick as their candidate.[25] The Green Party selected Somerset County Councillor Martin Dimery.[26] Both Purbrick and Dimery were unsuccessful list candidates in the South West England constituency at the 2019 European elections.[27]

Reform UK chose accountant and business owner Bruce Evans as their candidate.[28] The Labour Party chose civil engineer and UNISON representative Neil Guild as their candidate.[29] Guild was the Labour candidate for Taunton Deane in the 2015 general election.[30]

Railway conductor Rosie Mitchell stood as an independent.[31] The UK Independence Party chose military veteran and Somerton parish councillor Peter Richardson as their candidate.[32] The Christian Peoples Alliance chose former councillor Lorna Corke as their candidate. She contested Wells for the party at the 2019 general election.[33]

Results
Bar chart of the election result.
2023 Somerton and Frome by-election[34][35]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats Sarah Dyke 21,187 54.6 Increase28.4
Conservative Faye Purbrick 10,179 26.2 Decrease29.6
Green Martin Dimery 3,944 10.2 Increase5.1
Reform UK Bruce Evans 1,303 3.4 New
Labour Neil Guild 1,009 2.6 Decrease10.3
Independent Rosie Mitchell 635 1.6 New
UKIP Peter Richardson 275 0.7 New
CPA Lorna Corke 256 0.7 New
Rejected ballots 97 0.2
Registered electors 87,921
Majority 11,008 28.4 N/A
Turnout 38,885 44.2 Decrease31.4
Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative Swing Increase29.0

Previous result
General election 2019: Somerton and Frome[36]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative David Warburton 36,230 55.8 Decrease0.9
Liberal Democrats Adam Boyden 17,017 26.2 Increase5.3
Labour Sean Dromgoole 8,354 12.9 Decrease4.3
Green Andrea Dexter 3,295 5.1 Increase1.4
Majority 19,213 29.6 Decrease6.2
Turnout 64,896 75.6 Decrease0.2
Conservative hold Swing Decrease3.1

See also

References
  1. "1970 Bridgwater By-Election". UK Parliament.
  2. Parsley, David (2023-07-20). "Lib Dems claim to have won in Somerton and Frome less than two hours after polls close". inews.co.uk. Retrieved 2023-07-21.
  3. "The Constituency and Boundary Changes". Somerton and Frome. Retrieved 17 June 2023.
  4. "Lib Dems eye return to West Country strongholds with Somerton and Frome win". Inverness Courier. 2023-07-21. Retrieved 2023-07-21.
  5. "The Guardian view on England's byelections: a trio of tests is a dry run for the general election". The Guardian. 17 July 2023. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
  6. Badshah, Nadeem (17 June 2023). "David Warburton: Conservative MP suspended over drugs allegations to resign seat". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 17 June 2023.
  7. "MP David Warburton admitted to hospital after sexual harassment claims". BBC News. 3 April 2022. Retrieved 17 June 2023.
  8. Giordano, Chiara (3 April 2022). "Tory MP admitted to psychiatric hospital after sexual harassment and drug allegations". The Independent. Retrieved 17 June 2023.
  9. Walker, Peter; correspondent, Peter Walker Political (2022-11-21). "No formal sanction for Tory MP who broke rules on declaring interests". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
  10. "Tory MP broke rules over £150,000 loan from Russian businessman". The Independent. 22 November 2022. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
  11. "Suspended Tory MP David Warburton breached code of conduct". BBC News. 21 November 2022. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
  12. "No confidence vote in Somerton and Frome MP accused of harassment". BBC News. 23 February 2023. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
  13. Scott, Geraldine (18 June 2023). "David Warburton, MP in sex and drugs scandal, to seek re-election". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
  14. "Town council's vote of no confidence in MP David Warburton". Frome Times. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
  15. Mumby, Daniel (4 April 2023). "Somerset MP 'should resign' after year's absence from Parliament". SomersetLive. Retrieved 17 June 2023.
  16. "David Warburton resigns as Tory MP after suspension over harassment and drugs claims". The Independent. 17 June 2023. Retrieved 17 June 2023.
  17. "Another Tory MP set to trigger by-election - months after sex and cocaine sting". LBC. Retrieved 17 June 2023.
  18. "David Warburton: Conservative MP suspended over harassment and drugs allegations to stand down and trigger by-election". Sky News. Retrieved 17 June 2023.
  19. "Warburton formally quits as MP over cocaine use and harassment allegations". The Independent. 19 June 2023. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
  20. "Rishi Sunak facing by-election triple threat as new vote announced to replace David Warburton". Sky News. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
  21. Savage, Michael (2023-07-16). "Labour sends big guns to Selby in final push to secure historic byelection win". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 2023-07-16.
  22. "Chris Mason: Tory gloom ahead of triple by-election test". July 18, 2023 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  23. "Nominations for Somerton and Frome Parliamentary by election". www.somerset.gov.uk. Retrieved 2023-07-21.
  24. Pack, Mark (2022-05-14). "Sarah Dyke selected for Somerton and Frome". Mark Pack. Retrieved 2023-07-21.
  25. Badshah, Nadeem (2023-06-22). "Tories select councillor to run in byelection after Warburton resignation". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-07-21.
  26. "Frome's Martin Dimery selected as the Green candidate to fight the next parliamentary election". Frome Nub News. 2022-07-18. Retrieved 2023-07-21.
  27. "2019 European elections: List of candidates for the South West". BBC News. 2019-04-27. Retrieved 2023-07-21.
  28. Clarke, Lewis (2023-07-18). "Meet the Somerton & Frome By-Election candidates and why they want your votes". SomersetLive. Retrieved 2023-07-21.
  29. Belger, Katie Neame, Tom (2023-07-21). "Somerton and Frome by-election results: Labour finish in fifth place". LabourList. Retrieved 2023-07-21.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  30. "Taunton Deane parliamentary constituency - Election 2019 - BBC News". Retrieved 2023-07-21.
  31. "Rosie Mitchell - An Independent Socialist for Somerton & Frome". prolestar. 2023-07-14. Retrieved 2023-07-21.
  32. "Frome's by-election candidates | Frome Times". Retrieved 2023-07-21.
  33. "Wells parliamentary constituency - Election 2019 - BBC News". Retrieved 2023-07-21.
  34. "Somerton and Frome by-election candidates named". June 23, 2023 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  35. "Somerton and Frome by-election". www.somerset.gov.uk. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
  36. "Statement of Persons Nominated" (PDF).
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