Liberal Democrat Sarah Dyke is elected MP for Glastonbury and Somerton

LIBERAL Democrat Sarah Dyke has been elected MP for the new seat of Glastonbury and Somerton.

Sarah Dyke won 42.74% of the vote with 20,364. Conservative Faye Purbrick won 13,753, that's 28.87% of the vote.

Ms Dyke, previously elected MP for Somerton and Frome in July 2023, will now hold the seat of Glastonbury and Somerton with an electorate of 70,015.

The soon-to-be Glastonbury and Somerton MP told the County Gazette: “It's an absolute privilege to be elected as an MP and for me, it's even more of a privilege because I can trace my family back to this area, 250 years, we've been farming in this constituency.

“My great grandfather times six was born in a little village called North Cadbury in 1763, so for me, I feel deeply rooted in this community, and it's just wonderful to be able to continue the work that I've done over the last 10 months.”

The new Glastonbury and Somerton seat is being created out of the majority of the existing Somerton and Frome seat, including Bruton, Castle Cary, Langport, Somerton and Wincanton. It also includes Glastonbury, Street, and Ham Hill.

Other candidates who stood for the seat were Tom Carter (Reform UK); Jon Cousins (Green Party); Hal Hooberman (Labour); and Faye Purbrick (Conservative).

Speaking during her campaign, Ms Dyke said: "Since being elected in July 2023, I've worked hard on the issues that matter to people in this part of Somerset.

“I've campaigned to fix our NHS and make it easier for people to see a GP, I've held the Conservatives to account on the cost of living and called for additional support for rural communities, and I've demanded an end to the scandal of sewage in our local rivers.

"Meanwhile, the Conservatives have caused a crisis in the NHS, crashed the economy and voted to allow sewage dumping in rivers. They've let rural communities down.”

She added: “If I'm re-elected, I will continue championing better local NHS services, fighting for urgent action on the cost of living and working to safeguard the environment.”

Speaking about the NHS crisis, Ms Dyke said: “Local health services are on their knees. A staggering number of people I talk to on the doorstep have their own stories of not being able to get a GP appointment, register with an NHS dentist, or having been forced to wait for hours in A&E.

“Ending the crisis in our NHS has to be the top priority of any government after the election. We must rescue our local health services which have been pushed to the brink by the Conservative Party.

“An emergency budget right after the election is the only way we can start to repair the damage done to our communities' health services.

"People in Glastonbury and Somerton should not have to wait for a moment longer to get the care they deserve.”