Bromley and Biggin Hill General Election 2024 results as new Tory MP claims changes 'already started'

Conservative candidate Peter Fortune has been elected to represent Bromley and Biggin Hill, retaining the Conservative hold in South East London. The Tory MP said converstaions have 'already started' on changes in the party following its dramatic loss nationally.

The candidate received 15,929 votes, beating Labour’s Oana Olaru-Holmes by a slim 302 votes. Reform UK's Alan Cook followed in third place, with Julie Ireland of the Lib Dems coming in fourth.

Peter Fortune previously served as a member of the London Assembly for Bexley and Bromley from 2021 to 2024, as well as the deputy leader of Bromley Council as a councillor for the Hayes and Coney Hall ward. The MP said he has loved every opportunity he has had to represent his community, but claimed changes were being made in the Conservative Party following the evening's results.

Mr Fortune told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): "Unquestionably it's been a difficult night for the Conservative Party, so we're going to we're going to take some time, we're going to reflect. The conversations have already started on WhatsApp groups. I can hear phones pinging all over the place as people have got opinions."

He added: "There's a big conversation to be had and I actually welcome it. This is an important role that we have in politics and the world is stuffed full of complex issues that need resolving at the moment, so I welcome a chat and I welcome a new focus in the political narrative."

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The Bromley and Biggin Hill results in full

Conservative - Peter Fortune - 15,929

Labour - Oana Olaru-Holmes - 15,627

Reform UK - Alan Cook - 8,203

Liberal Democrats - Julie Ireland - 4,352

Green Party - Caroline Sandes - 2,583

Climate Party - Karen Miller - 94

The results were called at 4.45am at Churchill Court in Bromley. The turnout for the seat was 66.42 per cent, consisting of 46,971 votes. The number of rejected votes was 173.

Bromley and Biggin Hill comes as a new seat in this year’s General Election. It consists of Bromley Council wards Bickley and Sundridge, Biggin Hill, Bromley Common and Holwood, Bromley Town, Darwin, Hayes and Coney Hall, Plaistow and Shortlands and Park Langley. Mr Fortune maintained that he was not worried by how the new boundaries could have affected the result.

He said: "That's not the way I approach things. I've served Bromley for 14 years now. I was on the council then I served at the London Assembly, My primary focus of this election has been to continue that fantastic opportunity I have to serve the residents of this constituency."

The new seat partially covers the area of the former Bromley and Chislehurst constituency, which was represented by Conservative MP Bob Neill for nearly 18 years. The former MP won by a 23.9 per cent majority in the 2019 General Election.

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