The Hemel Hempstead constituency has been won by the Labour party candidate, David Taylor, giving the town it’s first Labour MP in 19 years.
At the main hall of Hemel Hempstead Sports Centre, Mr Taylor MP won 16,844 votes, beating Conservative candidate and local councillor Andrew Williams into second place, with him earning 11,987 votes, Labour’s first local win since 2005.
In third place came Reform candidate Noel Willcox with 7,689 votes, in fourth came Sammy Barry-Mears (also a local councillor) with 5, 096 votes and in fifth came Green candidate Sherief Hassan with 2,492 votes.
Speaking to Hemel News after his win, the newly christened MP was exuberant, saying: “I’m just over the moon. I’m so humbled that people in Hemel put their faith in me. I came into this hall 20 years ago as a member of the UK Youth Parliament observing the election counts come in, so to be here now as the MP is just amazing. I can’t wait to get going.”
In his acceptance speech, Mr Taylor MP thanked his parents, campaigners, his election agent and his Conservative predecessor, Sir Mike Penning, who stood down from the seat at this election after 19 years of service.
The mood from the Conservatives in the counting hall was sombre, with Tory candidate and local councillor Andrew Williams telling Hemel News that he expected defeat as early as 11pm.
He later said ahead of the vote’s announcement: “I think realistically that given the strength of the Labour vote across the country, it’s looking here like a Labour win. It’s obviously disappointing for me and the Conservative Party, but momentum is in Labour’s favour.
This win comes amidst a wave of seat gains for the Labour Party, who look certain to become the majority party in the House of Commons at this election.
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