General Election 2024: Liberal Democrats are back says new Glastonbury and Somerton MP

The Liberal Democrats are "back in the West Country" having romped to victory in the Glastonbury and Somerton seat at the general election. Sarah Dyke won the Somerton and Frome by-election for the party in July 2023, achieving a swing of nearly 30 per cent from the Conservatives following the resignation of David Warburton.

Ms Dyke has spent the last weeks squaring off against Tory challenger and fellow Somerset Council division member Faye Purbrick, with the latter hoping the rematch would yield a different result. But this was not to be as the new Glastonbury and Somerton seat turned orange to the sound of huge cheers from the count at the Westlands Entertainment Venue in Yeovil in the early hours of Friday morning (July 5).

The Lib Dems threw huge resources at this seat, with party leader Ed Davey and foreign affairs spokesperson Layla Moran both visiting the constituency in June. Ms Dyke even had a wager with Mr Davey that she would end up with a larger majority than him - with "a pint of Somerset cider" being at stake.

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Ms Dyke said it was "an absolute honour" to be elected for a second time and praised her opponents for "conducting the campaign without rancour". She also thanked Mr Davey for "injecting some much-needed fun into this campaign, while putting front and centre the vital issues of care and caring."

She said: "Thank you for believing in me and trusting me to be your voice. It's been an honour to represent my community since I was first elected to parliament last year, and it will be a privilege to continue to doing so.

"From Curry Rivel to Wincanton, from Street to Milborne Port, people across this constituency have spoken on behalf of the British people tonight, and they have told the Conservatives: 'enough is enough'. I will always put local people and our communities first, and I will continue to make your voices heard.

"Ours is a great country, and there's no better part of it than Somerset, where my roots run deep. I will not let you down."

Ms Dyke won the seat with a majority of 6,611 - around half the margin by which she won the Somerton and Frome by-election last year. The turnout was also down to just 64.66 per cent - 11 percentage points lower than the 75.6 per cent recorded at the 2019 contest.

The full results from the Glastonbury and Somerton constituency are as follows:

• Tom Carter (Reform UK); 7,678

• Jon Cousins (Green Party); 2,736

• Sarah Dyke (Lib Dem); 20,364

• Hal Hooberman (Labour); 3,111

• Faye Purbrick (Conservative): 13,753

Speaking after the result, Ms Dyke promised that she would stand up for rural areas to ensure the new Labour government did not solely focus on its urban heartlands. She said: "I'm born and bred in this neck of the woods.

"Rural communities run deep in my veins. I will speak so strongly on the part of communities in Somerset - and I will be joined by many other local champions who know their areas.

"The Liberal Democrats are back in Somerset, we're back in the West Country, and we will be a strong opposition voice to make sure rural communities are front and centre."