Chelmsford election results: Chelmsford votes Lib Dem for first time as former Tory MP Vicky Ford defeated

Chelmsford has elected its first non-Conservative MP in more than 70 years following an enormous victory for the Liberal Democrats in the General Election. Vicky Ford was defeated by Marie Goldman after serving as MP since 2017.

The sea of Conservative blue across Essex vastly dried up overnight with huge gains being made by Labour and the Lib Dems in the county. Reform UK also saw huge numbers of votes with Nigel Farage winning in Clacton, and Colchester electing its first female MP, and first Labour MP since the 1940s.

Chelmsford has been represented by the Conservatives since the 1940s, and there have only been three years since 1885 when there has not been a Tory MP for the city. But that changed with Marie Goldman winning 20,214 votes.

Read more: Recap of all the Essex General Election results of 2024 as they happened

Read more: Nigel Farage claims Clacton win is 'not a protest vote'

Vicky Ford, who previously had a majority of more than 13,000, won 15,461 votes. Reza Hossain, Green, received 1,588, Richard Hyland, Independent Network, 230, Darren Ingrouille, Reform - who did not show up to the count - 6,754, Mark Kenlen, Workers Party 105, Mark Lawrence, Monster Raving Loony Party, 187, Richard Parry, Labour, 6,108, and Kamla Sangha, Independent with 69.

The Lib Dem's victory was an enormous 19 per cent swing from the Conservatives. The count, which took place at Chelmsford Sport and Athletics Centre, saw a jovial atmosphere among the many Lib Dem activists present. While Conservative members also attended, the atmosphere was subdued, with it growing increasingly apparent towards the end of the evening that this would be a historic night for the Lib Dems.

Speaking to EssexLive following her victory, Marie Goldman said: "It feels amazing, and incredibly humbling. So many people turned out to make a difference, to make a change. It's been a long day, thank you to everyone who voted and put their faith in me and my party. For some of them it's not because they absolutely love the Liberal Democrats, I'm hoping I can win them over and they can love what I do, but it's trusting us and lending us their vote. I feel the weight of that trust, and I hope to make good on that promise that we've been trying to make that change for people to see."

On her main hopes for Chelmsford going into the House of Commons as an MP, she said: "There's so many things that can only be fixed in parliament, but bringing it back local; the thing that's come up most on the doorstep are the GP appointments. We really need to work out how to make a change to that in Chelmsford. We have got a great medical school here with ARU [Anglia Ruskin University], is it possible to expand that and get those GP training places here?

"But not just train here and go elsewhere, can we get them to stay in Chelmsford, and really serve the community where they trained? That's a thing I would really like to look into. There's lots of things to do with special education needs too; parents have put their trust in me to do that for children and families with disabilities. That's what I want to fight for in parliament.

"I was there in 2019 and stood as a candidate here in Chelmsford. That wasn't a great result for the Liberal Democrats, and I know so many people have put in such hard work. Across the entire country for the Lib Dems, so many campaigners wearing out shoe after shoe, putting out the values we all believe in, those liberal values that we really believe will make the world a better place, and it's absolutely fabulous to be a part of that family and move that forward in parliament."

Outgoing MP Vicky Ford admitted the night was a "dark" one for the Conservative party. However, she was proud of her work in the city and said the people have a "real sense of pride".

She said: "There's so many brilliant things that happen in Chelmsford. Even when times are tough, they will love and support each other and I think that's really unique. Chelmsford has got a sense of pride in itself, and I really hope it gets the rest of the infrastructure projects that I've worked on and they get over the line.

"I will really miss helping people, the individual cases and number of people I've helped. That's one of the biggest priviledges of the job, to be able to stand on the side of someone who is having a really tricky time and using your voice to support them.

"It's been a really dark night for the party, it's been so lovely that so many have said 'Vicky, you've done a brilliant job and thank you for what you've done here, but I can't vote for the party'. I hope that means I will be able to hold my head up high. I think we've done some brilliant calls; some of the investment we have brought in, the hard infrastructure and soft infrastructure, the new doctors and work at our amazing university, I'm so proud of them."