Blur’s Dave Rowntree loses bid to become Labour MP as Lib Dems win Mid Sussex

Blur‘s Dave Rowntree has lost his bid to become the Labour MP for Mid Sussex, after the Liberal Democrats won the hotly contested seat.

Last night saw Keir Starmer’s Labour Party storm to victory in the General Election. He will head to Downing Street and become Prime Minister today, after securing a massive majority over the Conservative Party.

But despite huge Labour constituency wins across the country, the Mid Sussex seat was won by Alison Bennett – the candidate for the Liberal Democrats.

Bennett was elected with 21,136 votes. The Tory candidate Kristy Adams secured second place with 14, 474, while Rowntree took third place with 9,397 votes.

Announcing his candidacy in March, Rowntree previously said: ” I’m delighted to have the opportunity to become Labour’s first Mid Sussex MP. Residents have their best chance in a generation to make their vote count and return a Labour MP to parliament.

“The Tories have run out of ideas, and the Lib Dems have run out of steam. I’m running for parliament to provide the energy and vision the area so desperately needs.”

As the dust begins to settle on Labour’s win, the UK music industry has also started to react. Tom Kiehl, the CEO of umbrella organisation UK Music, said that a Labour win provided “a resounding mandate for change”.

“The incoming Labour Government has been elected on a platform to implement a plan for the creative sector as part of its industrial strategy,” said Kiehl.

“The potential of the UK music industry to contribute to growth must be at the heart of this plan.  The music industry is facing a number of challenges, but also opportunities. A strong relationship between UK Music and the new Government will be essential to navigating what the rest of this decade brings.”

A similar statement also came from the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). “Congratulations to the new Labour Government – we look forward to working together to promote our world-leading music industry,” said CEO Jo Twist.

“In line with priorities set out during the campaign, we share ambitions to enable human creativity to flourish, underpinned by a strong intellectual property framework and commitments to support creative education. These statements align closely  with the five priorities we set out earlier this year and It is only through constructive engagement with industry that the Government will deliver on these pledges to the benefit of our collective creative industries.”

Elsewhere in last night’s election, the Conservatives lost all their seats in Wales, former PM Liz Truss lost her seat in South West Norfolk to Labour by 630 votes, and Kemi Badenoch, the equalities minister tipped to lead the Tory party in the future, held her seat in North West Essex.Other notable Tories who lost their seats included Penny Mordaunt and Jacob Rees-Mogg.