Yahoo News New Bristol Green MP Carla Denyer thanks voters who 'made history' as Labour's Thangam Debbonaire reacts to defeat
Bristol has ‘made history’ in electing its first ever Green Party MP in Carla Denyer, as the Greens surged into second place in four other constituencies in the city.
The Green Party co-leader beat Labour ’s Thangam Debbonaire by a margin greater than the pre-election polls or even the most optimistic Green supporter could have hoped for, and now has a majority of more than 10,000.
In the end, it wasn’t even close - the Greens polled 56.6 per cent of the vote to Labour’s 32.6 per cent, and afterwards, the new Green MP for Bristol Central said she was ‘incredibly grateful’ that voters in the city centre constituency had backed her.
Read more: Why Bristol Central is Britain's most interesting battleground
“Bristol, you made history today,” she said. “Together we elected our city’s first Green MP. I want to say a huge thank you to everyone who voted Green, I’m incredibly grateful that you put your trust in me. And to everyone who gave your vote to somebody else this time, I’m here for you, ready to listen to you and work hard for you too.
“This incredible city has long had my heart and the warmth I have felt during this campaign has been truly humbling. I feel so privileged to have this opportunity to serve you and to ensure that the real hope that inspired so many people to vote Green is represented in Parliament. I can’t wait to get started,” she added.
Thangam Debbonaire, who was elected in 2015 for Labour in the old Bristol West constituency and won huge majorities in both 2017 and 2019, saw her share of the vote plummet, despite a massive campaign which saw Labour Party supporters and prominent national politicians come to Temple Meads and tour the constituency to back her.
She focused on the national picture, where Labour won an overall majority and will now form a Government - which she won’t be part of. She had hoped to be the new Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport in Sir Keir Starmer’s new cabinet.
“Across the country people have voted for a Labour government and I couldn’t be prouder of my part in seeing that happen. Fourteen long years of chaos and division have finally come to an end,” she said.
“With a Labour government, we’re going to get investment in renewable energy, we’re going to bring down hospital waiting times, we’re going to put more teachers back into schools. And I couldn’t be prouder of the fact that creativity will be put back into the heart of every child’s education,” she added.
