The Conservative Party was almost wiped out in parts of Dorset – despite a landslide victory for the Labour Party nationally that will see Sir Keir Starmer become Prime Minister.
Before yesterday’s election, the Tories held seats in West Dorset, South Dorset, Mid-Dorset and North Poole and North Dorset.
Overnight, only one of these seats – North Dorset – remained blue, the others fell.
Chris Loder, the Conservative former MP for West Dorset, was defeated by Liberal Democrat Edward Morello, who secured a majority of over 7,000 votes.
Michael Tomlinson, former minister for illegal migration in Rishi Sunak’s government, narrowly lost his seat to the Liberal Democrats, where Vikki Slade secured a narrow majority of 500 votes.
And in South Dorset, long-serving MP Richard Drax was ousted by Labour’s Lloyd Hatton, losing the election by just over 1,000 votes.
The only good news for the Conservatives came from North Dorset, where Simon Hoare retained his seat, albeit with a much smaller majority of just 1,600 votes.
In our part of Wiltshire, however, the Conservatives fared better, with Andrew Murrison in South West Wiltshire and John Glen in Salisbury retaining their seats.
Dr Murrison won by just over 3,000 votes from Labour’s Evelyn Akoto. And in Salisbury, former Paymaster General Glen secured a lead of almost 4,000 votes over Labour challenger Matt Aldridge. Liberal Democrat Victoria Charleston came third.
In our corner of Somerset, Sarah Dyke was elected to represent the new seat of Glastonbury & Somerton for the Liberal Democrats, while Adam Dance, a Liberal Democrat, unseated former MP Marcus F.
The results came at a time when the results in the Vale were being reflected across the country: Labour secured a landslide victory – gaining 210 seats out of a total of 409 at the time of writing – followed by the Conservatives with 118 seats (a drop of 247).
Ed Davey’s sensational election campaign saw the Liberal Democrats gain a whopping 62 seats, giving them a total of 70 seats, while the SNP plummeted to just eight seats.
Reform UK, which split the Conservative vote across the UK, will gain three seats – including Nigel Farage in Clacton – while the Green Party will win four seats, including Bristol Central.
The full results for our constituencies in Dorset:
West Dorset
Edward Morello – Liberal Democrats: 26,999
Chris Loder – Conservative: 19,210
Donna Lumsden – Labour: 3,086
Kelvin Clayton – Green Party: 2,288
Oliver Chisholm – Independent: 733
Marcus White – Independent: 289
Mid Dorset and North Poole
Vikki Slade – Liberal Democrats: 21,442
Michael Tomlinson – Conservative: 20,090
Candice Johnson-Cole – Labour: 4,566
Ben Pantling – Green Party: 2,355
John Dowling – Social Democratic Party: 1,061
South Dorset
Lloyd Hatton – Labour: 15,659
Richard Drax – Conservative: 14,611
Morgan Young – Reform UK: 8,168
Matt Bell – Liberal Democrats: 8,017
Catherine Bennett – Green Party: 2,153
Joy Wilson – Independent: 192
Giovanna Lewis – Independent: 185
Rosie Morrell – Independent: 52
Simon Hoare has retained his seat in North Dorset
North Dorset
Simon Hoare – Conservative: 18,208
Gary Jackson – Liberal Democrats: 16,619
Ash Leaning – Reform UK: 7,894
James Coldwell – Labour: 4,370
Ken Huggins – Green Party: 2,082
Si Adams – Independent: 317
Jeff Taylor – UK Independence Party: 119
Daniel Woodruffe – Social Democratic Party: 74
Results in Wiltshire
Salisbury
John Glen – Conservative Party: 17,110
Matt Aldridge – Labour: 13,303
Victoria Charleston – Liberal Democrats: 11,825
Julian Malins – Reform UK: 5,235
Barney Norris – Green Party: 2,115
Chris Harwood – Climate Party: 127
King Arthur Pendragon – Independent: 458
South West Wiltshire
Andrew Murrison – Conservative Party: 15,617
Evelyn Akoto – Labour Party: 12,374
Garry Irvin – Reform UK: 7,840
Bret Palmer – Liberal Democrats: 7,205
Fay Whitfield – Green Party: 2,243
James Ward – Independent: 448
Thomas Culshaw – Independent: 441
Results in Somerset
Frome and East Somerset
Anna Sabine – Liberal Democrats: 16,580
Lucy Trimnell – Conservative: 11,165
David Swain – Reform UK: 6,441
Robin Moss – Labour: 6,416
Martin Dimery – Green Party: 5,083
Shaun Hughes – Independent: 737
Gavin Heathcote – Independent: 294
Glastonbury and Somerton
Sarah Dyke – Liberal Democrats: 20,364
Faye Purbrick – Conservative: 13,753
Tom Carter – Reform UK: 7,678
Hal Hooberman – Labor: 3,111
Jon Cousins – Green Party: 2,736
Yeovil
Adam Dance – Liberal Democrats: 23,765
Marcus Fysh – Conservative: 11,497
Laura Bailhache – Reform UK: 7,677
Rebecca Montacute – Work: 3,002
Serena Wootton – Green Party: 2,403
Steve Ashton – Independent: 608
