2023 Somerton and Frome by-election explained

Election Name:2023 Somerton and Frome by-election
Type:parliamentary
Turnout:44.2% (31.4 pp)
Seats For Election:Somerton and Frome constituency
Ongoing:no
Previous Election:2019 United Kingdom general election
Previous Year:2019
Next Election:2024 United Kingdom general election
Next Year:2024
Election Date:20 July 2023
Candidate1:Sarah Dyke
Image1:Official portrait of Sarah Dyke MP crop 2.jpg
Party1:Liberal Democrats (UK)
Popular Vote1:21,187
Percentage1:54.6%
Swing1:28.4 pp
Candidate2:Faye Purbrick
Party2:Conservative Party (UK)
Popular Vote2:10,739
Percentage2:26.2%
Swing2:29.6 pp
Candidate3:Martin Dimery
Party3:Green Party of England and Wales
Popular Vote3:3,944
Percentage3:10.2%
Swing3:5.1 pp
MP
Before Election:David Warburton
Before Party:Conservative Party (UK)
After Election:Sarah Dyke
After Party:Liberal Democrats (UK)
Country:United Kingdom

A by-election for the United Kingdom parliamentary constituency of Somerton and Frome took place on 20 July 2023, following the resignation of the incumbent MP David Warburton on 17 June.

It was the first by-election in Somerset since the 1970 Bridgwater by-election.[1] The seat was won by the Liberal Democrat candidate Sarah Dyke.[2]

Background

Somerton and Frome is a rural constituency in Somerset in the South West of England. The constituency includes the market towns of Somerton, Frome, Castle Cary, Langport, Wincanton, Templecombe, Bruton and Martock.[3] Frome, the largest community in the seat, acts as a small commercial centre for the surrounding areas.

The constituency had been held by Liberal Democrat David Heath from 1997 to 2015, and was considered to be one of the party's traditional strongholds in the rural West Country.[4] David Warburton was elected as the constituency's MP following the 2015 general election, securing the country's biggest swing to the Conservative Party amidst a nationwide collapse in the Liberal Democrat vote. He retained his seat with a majority of over 19,000 votes following the 2019 general election, though with a modest swing towards the Liberal Democrats.[5]

In April 2022, Warburton had the Conservative whip suspended following three allegations of sexual harassment pending investigation by the Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme.[6] He was admitted to a psychiatric hospital the same month for shock and stress.[7] That November, Warburton was found to have breached the MP's code of conduct.[8] [9] The Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, Kathryn Stone, found that there were two breaches of the code, but that they had been rectified after Warburton wrote to Stone "acknowledging and apologising".[10]

In January 2023, Warburton revealed his intention to seek re-election at the 2024 general election.[11] [12] The following month, Frome Town Council unanimously passed a vote of no confidence in Warburton.[13] Councillors accused him of failing to hold constituency surgeries since his suspension, which he denied. In April, calls were made for Warburton to resign after a year of absence from Parliament.[14]

On 17 June 2023, Warburton announced his intention to resign to The Mail on Sunday, citing his feeling that the parliamentary watchdog denied him a fair hearing over claims he harassed two women.[15] [16] [17] He admitted to taking cocaine after drinking whisky with a third woman. Warburton formally resigned from Parliament on 19 June.[18]

The by-election took place on 20 July 2023,[19] the same day as by-elections in Uxbridge and South Ruislip and Selby and Ainsty. They were the first by-elections being defended by the Conservatives under Rishi Sunak.

Campaign

According to The Observer, Liberal Democrat insiders claimed that internal canvassing data showed the Conservatives narrowly in first place, on 42%, and the Liberal Democrats in second with 39.5%.[20]

Three days before the by-election, The Guardian published an editorial supporting the Liberal Democrat candidate.[21] Party leader Ed Davey visited the seat six times during the campaign.[22]

Candidates

Eight candidates contested the by-election.[23]

The victorious candidate Liberal Democrat Sarah Dyke was selected as the prospective parliamentary candidate for the constituency in May 2022.[24]

The Conservatives chose Yeovil Town Councillor and Somerset County Councillor Faye Purbrick as their candidate.[25] The Green Party selected Somerset County Councillor Martin Dimery.[26] Both Purbrick and Dimery were unsuccessful list candidates in the South West England constituency at the 2019 European elections.[27]

Reform UK chose accountant and business owner Bruce Evans as their candidate.[28] The Labour Party chose civil engineer and UNISON representative Neil Guild as their candidate.[29] Guild was the Labour candidate for Taunton Deane in the 2015 general election.[30]

Railway conductor Rosie Mitchell stood as an independent.[31] The UK Independence Party chose military veteran and Somerton parish councillor Peter Richardson as their candidate.[32] The Christian Peoples Alliance chose former councillor Lorna Corke as their candidate. She contested Wells for the party at the 2017 general election.[33]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 1970 Bridgwater By-Election . UK Parliament.
  2. Web site: Parsley . David . 2023-07-20 . Lib Dems claim to have won in Somerton and Frome less than two hours after polls close . 2023-07-21 . inews.co.uk . en.
  3. Web site: The Constituency and Boundary Changes . 17 June 2023 . Somerton and Frome . en.
  4. Web site: 2023-07-21 . Lib Dems eye return to West Country strongholds with Somerton and Frome win . 2023-07-21 . Inverness Courier . en.
  5. News: Badshah . Nadeem . 17 June 2023 . David Warburton: Conservative MP suspended over drugs allegations to resign seat . en-GB . The Guardian . 17 June 2023 . 0261-3077.
  6. News: MP David Warburton admitted to hospital after sexual harassment claims . 17 June 2023 . BBC News . 3 April 2022.
  7. News: Giordano . Chiara . Tory MP admitted to psychiatric hospital after sexual harassment and drug allegations . 17 June 2023 . The Independent . 3 April 2022 . en.
  8. News: Walker . Peter . correspondent . Peter Walker Political . 2022-11-21 . No formal sanction for Tory MP who broke rules on declaring interests . en-GB . The Guardian . 18 June 2023 . 0261-3077.
  9. Web site: 22 November 2022 . Tory MP broke rules over £150,000 loan from Russian businessman . 18 June 2023 . The Independent . en.
  10. News: 21 November 2022 . Suspended Tory MP David Warburton breached code of conduct . en-GB . BBC News . 18 June 2023.
  11. News: 23 February 2023 . No confidence vote in Somerton and Frome MP accused of harassment . en-GB . BBC News . 18 June 2023.
  12. News: Scott . Geraldine . 18 June 2023 . David Warburton, MP in sex and drugs scandal, to seek re-election . . en . 18 June 2023 . 0140-0460.
  13. Web site: Town council's vote of no confidence in MP David Warburton . Frome Times . 18 June 2023.
  14. Web site: Mumby . Daniel . 4 April 2023 . Somerset MP 'should resign' after year's absence from Parliament . 17 June 2023 . SomersetLive . en.
  15. Web site: 17 June 2023 . David Warburton resigns as Tory MP after suspension over harassment and drugs claims . 17 June 2023 . The Independent . en.
  16. Web site: Another Tory MP set to trigger by-election - months after sex and cocaine sting . 17 June 2023 . LBC . en.
  17. Web site: David Warburton: Conservative MP suspended over harassment and drugs allegations to stand down and trigger by-election . 17 June 2023 . Sky News . en.
  18. Web site: 19 June 2023 . Warburton formally quits as MP over cocaine use and harassment allegations . 19 June 2023 . The Independent . en.
  19. Web site: Rishi Sunak facing by-election triple threat as new vote announced to replace David Warburton . 21 June 2023 . Sky News . en.
  20. News: Savage . Michael . 2023-07-16 . Labour sends big guns to Selby in final push to secure historic byelection win . en-GB . The Observer . 2023-07-16 . 0029-7712.
  21. News: 17 July 2023 . The Guardian view on England’s byelections: a trio of tests is a dry run for the general election . . 21 July 2023.
  22. Web site: Chris Mason: Tory gloom ahead of triple by-election test. July 18, 2023. www.bbc.co.uk.
  23. Web site: Nominations for Somerton and Frome Parliamentary by election . 2023-07-21 . www.somerset.gov.uk.
  24. Web site: Pack . Mark . 2022-05-14 . Sarah Dyke selected for Somerton and Frome . 2023-07-21 . Mark Pack . en-GB.
  25. News: Badshah . Nadeem . 2023-06-22 . Tories select councillor to run in byelection after Warburton resignation . en-GB . The Guardian . 2023-07-21 . 0261-3077.
  26. Web site: 2022-07-18 . Frome's Martin Dimery selected as the Green candidate to fight the next parliamentary election . 2023-07-21 . Frome Nub News . en.
  27. News: 2019-04-27 . 2019 European elections: List of candidates for the South West . en-GB . BBC News . 2023-07-21.
  28. Web site: Clarke . Lewis . 2023-07-18 . Meet the Somerton & Frome By-Election candidates and why they want your votes . 2023-07-21 . SomersetLive . en.
  29. Web site: Belger . Katie Neame, Tom . 2023-07-21 . Somerton and Frome by-election results: Labour finish in fifth place . 2023-07-21 . . en-GB.
  30. News: Taunton Deane parliamentary constituency - Election 2019 - BBC News . en-GB . 2023-07-21.
  31. Web site: 2023-07-14 . Rosie Mitchell - An Independent Socialist for Somerton & Frome . 2023-07-21 . prolestar . en.
  32. Web site: Frome’s by-election candidates Frome Times . 2023-07-21.
  33. News: Wells parliamentary constituency - Election 2019 - BBC News . en-GB . 2023-07-21.