Yahoo News Labour candidate Matt Turmaine voted in as Watford MP
Labour have taken control of Watford in a major turnaround for the constituency.
Matt Turmaine has been elected as the town's MP with a majority of 4,723 as a hard-fought campaign ended in a pretty clear victory for the Holywell Ward councillor.
“I would like the thank the voters of Watford who have put their trust in me and the Labour party to deliver the change that Britain has been crying out for,” he said in his victory speech.
“Watford wanted change and has voted for it and we will get to work to deliver it.”
The local party appeared to be under strict orders not to comment on the night but a more detailed response to the result is expected tomorrow.
Despite winning the seat with a 4,433-vote majority in 2019, Dean Russell was unable to retain control amid a national rout for the Conservatives.
The outgoing MP said he was proud of his achievements in the role and added that he cannot complain about the result.
"So, there was a national head swing that sadly I couldn’t overcome but I’m not going to complain and I’m not going to blame either," he added.
“The reality is this was my election to win or lose."
Liberal Democrat candidate Ian Stotesbury took third place with 7,577 votes.
The local party suggested that tactical voting meant many who may have voted for them placed their cross by 'Labour' instead, to "get the Conservatives out".
"We've seen the Liberal Democrats take seats up and down Hertfordshire, sadly that wasn't to be here in Watford today," Mr Stotesbury said.
Exit polls released at 10pm yesterday (July 4) saw Sky give Labour a 99 per cent chance of winning and over the course of the night the word “landslide” began to be heard as Conservatives and Liberal Democrats appeared in low mood.
Meanwhile, many smaller parties were relatively happy with the outcome. Gary Ling for Reform UK picked up 4,930 votes, Khalid Chohan for Workers Part of Britain received 2,659, and 2,428 people voted for Arran Bowen-La Grange from the Green Party.
Sarah Knott from the Heritage Party received 168 votes.
An unfortunate fact of the election was that the number of voters dropped significantly.
Turnout for the constituency this year was 61.08 per cent, which is 8.89 per cent down from 2019 (when it was 69.97 per cent).
