New Esher and Walton MP makes history becoming first ever woman in seat

Monica Harding made history in Esher and Walton becoming the first non-Conservative to represent the area in over a century - and its first ever female MP. The Liberal Democrat was declared the winner at about 5.30am on Friday July 5 with 28,315 votes, well ahead of John Cope, 16,312, who had been hoping to hold the seat for the Conservatives after former member of parliament Dominic Raab announced his decision to step down.

The pair finished well ahead of the pack, a fitting analogy given the Sandown Park racecourse venue the count was being held. Reform UK’s Alastair Gray finished third on 4,777 followed by Labour ’s Yoel Gordon, 2846, Maciej Pawlik (Green) 1,396 and Richard Bateson (Social Democratic) bringing up the rear on 234.

The night was one of a number of gains in Surrey for the Liberal Democrats after the party wins in Dorking and Horley, and Surrey Heath with the Conservatives unable to add to the successes of Jeremy Hunt in Godalming and Ash or Claire Coutinho in East Surrey. Monica Harding, speaking after her win, said: “In 2019 we unlocked the Conservative’s majority and it became a marginal seat and what you've seen today is the gateway to Surrey and the Lib Dems sweeping out the Conservatives.”

READ MORE: Live Surrey General Election results as Conservatives lose out and Jeremy Hunt's fate decided

READ MORE: Map shows Surrey election results in full as some seats change hands

Going into the day, the website Electoral Calculus said the Liberal Democrats had a 98 per cent chance of taking the seat. Esher and Walton ’s next MP said: “You never take anything for granted at all. This has been a Conservative seat for 150 years, so the chance of it falling to the Lib Dems was something we’ve only ever dreamed about and it’s happened today.

“Not only that but I am also very proud of become the first woman elected here. I’m very proud of that, as it's long overdue. The reason for our success was that people backed the Liberal Democrats policies. Our team has knocked on tens of thousands of doors. We have a very clear idea of what people want.

“They want the sewage cleared, affordable social care, the cost of living crisis resolved. They were fed up with the out of touch Conservative government. Esher and Walton, I will not let you down. Thank you very much. I'm honoured and privileged that you put your faith in me and it will not let you down.”

The result came at the end of a long night for the Conservatives. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak had already conceded the election, telling the nation he had phoned Labour leader Keir Starmer to congratulate him on winning. It was then put beyond all doubt when Labour passed the 326 seat mark needed to form a Government, on its way to a predicted 410 seat landslide.

Conservative party candidate John Cope said the results across the country showed the public wanted to vote for change but that they hadn't been convinced by the Labour Party “but still wanted to punish the Conservatives for mistakes over the years.”

Mistakes, he said, that had frustrated him as much as anyone else. He said: “ It’s shown in the approval ratings that showed Keir Starmer is most unpopular Prime Minister, on minus 19, when every other Prime Minister came in on positive numbers. The Conservative Party has been reacting to events for at least six or seven years, the pandemic, the energy crisis, wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, it's taken most of the party’s energy and mistakes have been made, and the pressures on the country have been due to the Conservatives, and the infighting among a small number of Conservatives has to stop.

“On the doorstep people say they hate when Conservatives fight with each other.” Despite the defeat, Mr Cope said he was proud of the way his team continued to work - even when faced with odds that suggested the Lib Dems had a 98 per cent chance of winning the seat.

He said: “It was an uphill battle and a hard one to keep the volunteers motivated but they’ve been a really strong team despite all the frustrations. If you believe in business, law and order, defence, all those ideas are still there - and despite that two per cent chance of success, the volunteers were still motivated (to fight for those values).

more news from SurreyLive straight to your inbox for free here.