Lunchtime summary
- Jo Swinson has declared the Liberal Democrats are “winning and on the up” after reducing Boris Johnson’s majority to one by taking a seat off the Conservatives in the Brecon and Radnorshire byelection. The Lib Dems won 13,826 votes with the Tories taking 12,401, a margin of 1,425 that overturned the Tories’ previous majority of more than 8,000.
- Veteran MP Frank Field has announced that he will be standing as an independent in the next election. Field resigned the Labour whip after 39 years as the party’s MP in Birkenhead last August, following a vote of no confidence from constituency members. He will run as a “Birkenhead Social Justice” candidate. Here is a quick roundup of his career to date.
- The foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, has been accused of “misleading the public” over no-deal Brexit and bringing the post of Foreign Secretary “into disrepute”. Labour former Foreign Office minister Ben Bradshaw has written to Raab calling on him to apologise for claiming that the prospect of a no-deal exit from the European Union was “widely discussed and considered a realistic prospect during the 2016 EU referendum”. Earlier this week the Guardian looked at what exactly had been said during the referendum campaign –
Sean Kemp, a former Lib Dem head of media and Downing Street special adviser, has written for the Guardian cautioning against taking the result in Brecon and Radnorshire for grated.
I don’t know what god Lib Dem HQ was praying to in order to get a contest against a Conservative candidate who had just lost a recall petition after admitting fiddling his expenses, but I’d suggest they build it a bigger shrine. Throw in other remain parties not standing and we shouldn’t pretend that anything other than a Lib Dem victory here would have been a shock.
But if there’s a danger in over-interpreting one result, there’s also a risk that the current relative good fortune being enjoyed by the Lib Dems is taken for granted. Received wisdom now appears to be that with a strong remain message and the Labour and Conservative parties apparently vacating the centre ground, everything is now theirs for the taking – and that it was always thus. Yet it’s worth remembering that six months ago the very same received wisdom was that the party was possibly doomed.
Jon Henley, the Guardian’s Europe correspondent, has compiled this roundup of opinions on our new prime minister from politicians on the continent.
“Like many people, I was easily charmed by his demeanour, his self-confidence, his intelligence,” said Han ten Broeke, a former Dutch MP specialising in EU affairs. “He’s a pleasure to listen to. I have a soft spot for Britain, and Boris was one reason why.”
Ten Broeke has since revised his opinion. “The charm, the intellect, the confidence – it all now looks a lot like over-confidence,” he said. “A promise of simple solutions to complex problems. And it could have disastrous consequences.”
Field has published 10 immediate priorities for Birkenhead, which include eliminating child poverty and youth unemployment. He said he was working on a manifesto, shaped by the views of constituents, in preparation for a snap general election.
I will be standing at the next general election as the Birkenhead Social Justice candidate: https://t.co/4XHEJhAJui
— Frank Field MP (@frankfieldteam) August 2, 2019
Frank Field will run as an independent in the next election
Frank Field has announced that he will stand at next general election as a “Birkenhead Social Justice” candidate. He was a Labour MP for 39 years before resigning the party whip last August.
Field said in a statement:
It is a privilege to serve as Birkenhead’s MP – as it has been every day for the past 40 years. It is ultimately a sovereign decision for the people of the town to decide who they wish to represent them in the House of Commons.
I will be standing again as a candidate at the next election with the aim of doing what I have done for 40 years: always putting the interests of our town and our country first while championing the views and interests of the underdogs in our society.
While we’re waiting for the Frank Field announcement (see here), here’s a bit of a recap –
77-year-old Field has been MP for Birkenhead since 1979. While he was briefly minister for welfare reform in Tony Blair’s government (May 1997 til July 1998 ), he resigned following disagreements with the then social security secretary Harriet Harman and returned to the back benches where he continued to be critical of the government.
He is considered to be on the right of the party and in 2010 David Cameron made him his poverty tsar. Field was elected chair of the work and pensions select committee in 2015, where he has been a fierce critic of universal credit. In August 2018 he resigned the Labour party whip, citing anti-semitism in the party, after losing a vote of no confidence by members in his constituency. He subsequently described himself as an “independent Labour MP”. Field is a eurosceptic and sided with Theresa May’s government in numerous Brexit votes.
Updated
Jane Dodds echoed the warning of the first minister of Wales, Mark Drakeford, that these were dangerous times for the union.
She said: “The Liberal Democrats are a party that want to stay as part of the United Kingdom. We want to stay in Europe. We see that as healthy for our communities. We have to stay in Europe and we have to stay in this bigger team.”
Turning to the farming, a key issue during the by-election campaign, she said:
“October, November and December are peak times to sell Welsh lamb. There are two issues for farmers – firstly, how are they going to cope with 40% tariffs on their lamb exports. The second is mental health. Farming is the profession with the highest suicide rate. These are real concerns.”
She called for Boris Johnson to return to Wales and have proper discussions with farmers. “I want him to come and have really robust discussion with our farmers here.”
Asked if there will be constituencies where the Lib Dems will not stand at the next general election to clear the way for Plaid Cymru or the Greens, she said: “We’ll certainly be having those discussions. It’s too early to say at the moment. We want to reach out across political divides to find ways of working together. I will be looking for opportunities for that to happen.”
She rejected the idea that it was awkward representing a constituency that voted to leave the EU. “I’m here for everybody whether they voted for remain or Brexit,” she said. “We were always up front about being the party of remain.”
Frank Field, the pro-Brexit former Labour minister who now sits as an independent MP is due to make an announcement “on his political future” in the next hour.
He will make a statement at Birkenhead Town Hall at noon followed by a question and answer session.
Jo Swinson has said the byelection result could pave the way for more cross-party cooperation between pro-remain parties.
She said: “We achieved a 12% swing overturning a majority of 8,000 in a seat that voted to leave the European Union. This is a stunning victory. Of course I am appreciative of Plaid and the Greens taking the step they did.”
Asked if this “remain alliance” would continue, she said: “Absolutely. In most constituencies across the country it will be the Liberal Democrats that are the strongest party of remain but we recognise the value in co-operating with others for that wider national goal to protect our country’s future. I think this may well be a feature of future elections. We need to be grown up about that. Grown up co-operation across parties with the national interest will continue.”
Swinson also rejected the idea that Dodds had deliberately not talked much about Brexit during the campaign.
She said: “I absolutely heard her talking about stopping a no-deal Brexit. Farmers in this area talked to her about their concerns when we’re looking at 40% tariffs on lamb exports.”
— steven morris (@stevenmorris20) August 2, 2019
The foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, has been accused of “misleading the public” over no-deal Brexit and bringing the post of Foreign Secretary “into disrepute”.
Labour former Foreign Office minister Ben Bradshaw has written to Raab calling on him to apologise for remarks on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme this week.
He said the foreign secretary had claimed the prospect of a no-deal exit from the European Union was “widely discussed and considered a realistic prospect during the 2016 EU referendum”.
Bradshaw said the claim there is a mandate for a no-deal Brexit is “deeply dishonest and demeans the office of foreign secretary”.
In the letter, Bradshaw told Raab:
“Your pronouncements since taking the job just a few days ago risk bringing this great office of state into disrepute. I was astonished to hear you claim on the BBC’s Today programme on Monday 29 July that the prospect of a no-deal exit from the European Union was widely discussed and considered a realistic prospect during the 2016 EU referendum. You must know this is simply not true.
“There appears to be no evidence at all of you ever suggesting that leaving the EU without a deal was a likely or possible outcome. Indeed, whenever the question was put to you, you suggested the opposite - you claimed that a new, better deal would be negotiated with the EU if people voted to leave.
“You said the UK would of course retain a strong trading relationship with Europe and would likely get a bespoke deal, and stated, ‘the idea that Britain would be apocalyptically off the cliff edge if we left the EU is silly’.
“This is not a subject for debate, it is a matter of public record.
“For you to now try and claim a democratic mandate for no deal, despite failing to discuss the possibility of such an outcome during the referendum, is deeply dishonest and demeans the office of foreign secretary.”
Bradshaw called on Raab to “apologise for misleading the public” and to “agree there is no mandate for no deal”.
The BBC’s Reality Check team found no mention of leaving the EU without a deal in the six months before the referendum from Raab, Vote Leave or Michael Gove.
Chris Bryant, the Labour MP for the Welsh seat of Rhondda, claimed Labour’s vague stance on Brexit had damaged the party in the byelection.
Speaking to the BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire programme he said:
Some of us have been saying for quite some time that one of the problems about trying to be all things to men and women is that nobody ends up liking what you’re offering.
I think our constructive ambiguity hasn’t really helped us over the last two years. We have tried to say to Brexit voters ‘we are in favour of Brexit’ but to remain voters ‘we are in favour of remain’ and in the end you’re not. I am fundamentally a remainer and I believe it it is in the interest of Wales, and our country, that we should at the very least try and achieve as softer Brexit as possible so that we can continue trading with Europe.
Bryant put a brave face on the result. “In the end biggest problem for the Labour party is that we nearly lost our deposit. I’m glad we didn’t lose our deposit, lots of people were talking about that going to happen.”
He also claimed Labour was likely to call a vote on no-confidence in September. He said: “I would be amazed if we were not to table a motion of no confidence, and I will be wholeheartedly supporting it.”
Updated
Jane Dodds continues to portray her victory as a rejection of a no-deal Brexit. Speaking to Sky News she said:
Here in Brecon and Radnorshire what people were talking with us about, particularly those working in agriculture, is that a no-deal Brexit here would decimate the farming industry. That’s the first thing that I want to make sure Boris Johnson understands. He now has to listen that a no-deal Brexit would be a disaster for our farming and agricultural communities here.
I’m determined to find Mr. Johnson, wherever he’s hiding. And so you’ve got to listen, you really got to listen to what this has said. This has said that the people are breaking the Radnorshire do not want a new deal Brexit. We’ve burst his bubble and the first week of his Premiership, and he has to listen to that.
Asked if the LibDems would support a soft Brexit, Dodds said: “We’ve said very clearly that any deal that goes before Parliament must be attached to people’s vote.”
On electoral pacts she said: “We were delighted that the Green Party and Plaid Cymru decided to stand down here. They knew we could beat the Conservatives by doing that, but secondly, it was symbolic of adult grown up politics.”
Asked if the LibDems would step aside in other seats in return, she said: “we’re open to that.”
Updated
Still no official reaction from Labour on the byelection.
Jeremy Corbyn is instead focussing on flooding and the damaged dam at Whaley Bridge.
The government has known for years that floods are the direct result of global warming, yet it has failed to tackle the causes or prepare for the impact of the climate emergency.
— Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) August 2, 2019
Thank you to the emergency services and RAF who have worked to protect people in Whaley Bridge.
Here’s Swinson’s congratulatory message to Dodds:
Liberal Democrats are winning again. And this byelection victory shows that the people of Brecon and Radnorshire not only have a first class MP in Jane Dodds, but they have shown the people of Britain that we can do better than the choice on offer between Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn.
Liberal Democrats have a vision for a cleaner, safer, richer country in the European Union. And as leader of the Liberal Democrats, I will fight to keep our country in the European Union. And we now have in Parliament, one more MP who will fight to make that happen. Jane Dodds will be a first class representative for Brecon and Radnorshire, and potentially a key vote in cutting Boris Johnson’s majority to just one. Congratulations, Jane.
Updated
Dodds: ‘we’ve burst Boris Johnson’s bubble’
Jane Dodds says her victory in the byelection has burst Boris Johnson’s bubble.
Speaking after being congratulated in person by Jo Swinson, Dodds said:
Here we stand bursting Boris Johnson’s bubble in the first week of his premiership. And here we are saying to him very loud and clear that farmers and agricultural workers here will not tolerate a no-deal Brexit. That families who work hard will not put up with the indignity of going to food banks and that everybody including, especially our young people, want to see a much clearer and faster action on the climate emergency.
We are very clear that this opportunity. I want to that voice in parliament that demands from Boris Johnson that he acts on these issue. I look forward to being the rural voice of Wales and Liberalism in Parliament.
Jane Dodds says the Lib Dems have burst Boris Johnson’s bubble pic.twitter.com/uXCimPDevR
— steven morris (@stevenmorris20) August 2, 2019
Updated
Labour is staying very quiet about the result after its candidate, Tom Davies, almost lost his deposit.
Heidi Allen, the former Tory MP, then leader of Change UK, and now a member of the Independent group, described the results as “utterly brilliant”.
Utterly brilliant result- we are stronger when we work together and put country first @LibDems @Plaid_Cymru @TheGreenParty @unitetoremain https://t.co/LiWb3sbJPd
— Heidi Allen MP (@heidiallen75) August 2, 2019
David Cameron’s former director of communications reckons the Conservatives won’t be that disheartened by the result.
Suspect there’s more hope than fear at Conservative Central Office this morning after #BreconByElection Bad to lose, but Remain forces need to repeat alliance in dozens of seats. @Labour all over the place. A national share of vote of just 33% could see @Conservatives through.
— Craig Oliver (@CraigOliver100) August 2, 2019
LibDem leader Jo Swinson is about to congratulate her new parliamentary colleague, Jane Dodds, at a garden party in the Brecon Beacons. Steven Morris is there:
Lib Dem activists gather on a very pretty hotel garden in the Brecon Beacons awaiting their new MP and party leader... pic.twitter.com/cRvQMcYhGS
— steven morris (@stevenmorris20) August 2, 2019
The Green party says the result of the byelection was vindication of its decision to stand aside in favour of the LibDems.
Anthony Slaughter, leader of the Wales Green Party, said:
“The local Green Parties in the constituency made a decision, in the light of the critical circumstances of this moment, with the finely balanced parliament in Westminster, to withdraw in order to maximise the chances of a Remain MP.
“That decision is absolutely vindicated by this result. The people of Brecon and Radnorshire have taken the opportunity to cut Boris Johnson’s majority in Westminster to a highly unstable one, reducing further the risk of a disastrous crash-out Brexit.
“And the Green party’s decision was key to that: the Liberal Democrat majority was 1,400 votes. We got 1,300 votes in the seat in 2015, while Plaid Cymru, who also withdrew from the by-election, also got that many votes.
“Of course what we need is a change to the undemocratic voting system, to ensure that everywhere in every nation votes can express their political preferences, vote for what they believe in and get it. But until we elect a parliament in Westminster that will reform our system and bring our politics into the 21st century, we have to work within the system we have.”
ITV’s political editor has this:
Arguably it was the Brexit Party that cost the Conservatives the Brecon and Radnorshire seat, and that therefore @Nigel_Farage still holds @BorisJohnson hostage on Brexit pic.twitter.com/QvyqwJoJye
— Robert Peston (@Peston) August 2, 2019
Liz Saville Roberts, leader of Plaid Cymru in Westminster, said Labour had been punished in the byelection for putting tribalism before the national interest.
Labour pays high price for tribal politics in #BreconAndRadnor
— Liz Saville Roberts AS/MP (@LSRPlaid) August 2, 2019
2017 7,335 Labour votes
2019 1,680 Labour votes#RemainAlliance https://t.co/kVDQQFjy0x
Here’s a graphic of Brecon and Radnoshire result:
The Shetland byelection, triggered by the resignation of long-serving Scottish Lib Dem MSP Tavish Scott, may not be attracting quite so much UK media attention, but here’s a thing: it will now be the first time that prisoners are able to vote in a Scottish election.
The Scottish government has announced that prisoners serving sentences of 12 months or less and who normally live in the island constituency, will have the right to vote: the ruling is expected to apply to fewer than five people.
This brings Scotland into line with the European Court of Human Rights, which said in 2005 that the UK government’s blanket ban was a breach of prisoners’ human rights.
In 2017, the UK government announced a compromise, but only after franchise powers had been devolved to Holyrood. A bill has been lodged at the Scottish parliament to do likewise, but the constitutional relations secretary, Michael Russell, has now passed this remedial order to ensure that the Shetland byelection aligns with the ECHR ruling.
The Scottish Tories are unimpressed, describing it as an “ill-judged move” which opens to door to prisoner voting and has been done without proper debate or consultation.
Alistair Campbell hailed the byelection as a victory for the “remain alliance”.
Well done Remain Alliance. The @LibDems get the win but Brecon is something bigger than that - shows that when people put country before party, as @Plaid_Cymru and @TheGreenParty did, real change can come. The no deal poundshop Trump is further weakened and devalued today.
— Alastair PEOPLE’S VOTE Campbell (@campbellclaret) August 2, 2019
Campbell, who was Tony Blair’s director of communication, was expelled from Labour after voting LibDem in the European election. Last week he said he had no wish to be readmitted to Labour in part because of Jeremy Corbyn’s failure to unequivocally back a second referendum.
Swinson also predicted further electoral pacts between pro-EU parties following the byelection.
Speaking to Today she said:
“I do think that working across party lines is important when there is so much at stake for the future of our country and I will continue to do that.
“I’ve exchanged messages this morning with the Green and Plaid leaderships and I think there will be more co-operation in future elections.”
The new LibDem leader, Jo Swinson, said the byelection demonstrated there is no public consent for pursuing a no deal Brexit.
Speaking to BBC Breakfast she said: “It’s really good for the Liberal Democrats. But I think this has wider national significance. Not only does it cut Boris Johnson’s majority to just one and show that there isn’t a mandate for his no deal Brexit. This also shows hope to people in this country that they don’t have to settle for that choice between Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn, there is a more positive alternative available – the Liberal Democrats.”
She said the many people in the leave-voting constituency of Brecon and Radnorshire were worried about the impact of a no deal Brexit. She said such an outcome would have a devastating impact on the rural economy as tariffs on lamb exports would put many sheep farmers out of business.
“It is not surprising that people here have sent a very clear message to Boris Johnson that he needs to change his plan,” she said.
Swinson admitted that LibDems played the system by persuading the Greens and Plaid Cymru to pull out of the byelection to allow her party a clear run at the seat.
She said: “I do genuinely say thank you to Plaid and the Greens. And I’ve been in touch with their leaders this morning to express that personally, because they put the national interest first and stood aside.
“We are working the system that we have, we have won a victory with a 12% swing overturning an 8,000 majority. And this comes off the back of our best of our local election results and storming victories in the European elections where we beat both the Conservatives and the Labour parties to our best ever European election results too. So this is a sustained pattern of Liberal Democrats winning again, on the up.”
Tory party chairman, James Cleverly, conceded that the byelection was “disappointing” for the Tories but pointed out that the Labour party had moved backwards in support.
He told Today: “It’s disappointing to lose a parliamentary colleague, obviously. But what we saw here was a very close result in a byelection which the Lib Dems were expecting to romp home comfortably.”
He added: “What we also saw was the Labour Party, the official opposition, the party that claims to be ready to step in, almost losing their deposit well in Wales. They moved backwards.”
The elections experts, John Curtice, says the result of the byelection should make Boris Johnson cautious about going for a snap election.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme he said the vote showed the Tories were enjoying a “Boris bounce” but only at the expense of the Brexit party.
He said: “In an early general election at the moment at least, the Conservatives would be at risk of losing.”
He added: “When thinking about the prospects for an early general election. If the Liberal Democrats could pick up 40 or 50 seats, winning a large overall majority, which seems to be the point of a snap election, would become rather more difficult for the Conservatives would otherwise be the case.”
He said the result confirmed recent opinion polls putting the Conservatives above their performance in the European and local elections but 10% below their total in the last general election. He said:
“The Boris bounce is good news for the conservatives. It’s encouraging, as is the result of this by election despite the loss, but it’s not necessarily substantial enough for anybody to want to precipitate an early general election with any great degree of confidence that you would end up with an arithmetic in the House of Commons that was significantly better than the one that the Prime Minister is currently going to have to deal with.”
“Tough night,” Ukip has posted on Twitter. Ukip placed last in yesterday’s vote, behind the Monster Raving Loony Party.
Tough night. But well done to Liz who had the courage to stand, and thank you to all those who helped her campaign. Lib Dems win Brecon and Radnorshire byelection, cutting Johnson Commons majority to one https://t.co/AuYSpc5G5A
— UKIP (@UKIP) August 2, 2019
An interesting take on the Tory loss in the Telegraph today, which seems to argue that the real winners on the day were... the Conservatives. 🤔
It’s paywalled, so for those who haven’t subscribed, here’s a brief sample.
This was an election that the Lib Dems threw the kitchen sink at and should have been a shoo-in for them. The fact that it wasn’t and that the Conservatives finished a close second, suggests Boris Johnson has got the Conservatives back into play electorally in what is a high risk winner takes all general election strategy. All the same, nothing in this result suggests anything other than ongoing voter unpredictability.
With all the indicators pointing to a 1990s style Lib Dem gain against a Government in difficulties, enter right the Tories Lord Flashheart, one Boris de Pfeffel Johnson, injecting confidence, charisma and optimism as a dynamic new Prime Minister and taking Government by the scuff [sic] of its neck. It clearly made a difference, giving Tories something positive to vote for and, more importantly in a 52:48 per cent Brexit split constituency, he had a renewed focus on taking the UK out of the EU on October 31. The Conservatives returned in this by-election to the party of leave and therefore Brexit, in a successful strategy to squeeze the Brexit Party vote. Boris becoming Prime Minister even for just over a week but with a new Brexit delivery agenda, injected an element of uncertainty into proceedings right up to the announcement of the result. In just over a week Boris moved his party from a position of no hope to coming close to victory.
A reminder from the Guardian’s Hannah Jane Parkinson about the circumstances that led to yesterday’s byelection.
it will never not be funny that Chris Davies, after being found guilty of expenses fraud and voted out by circa 20% of his constituents on petition, chose to stand again. https://t.co/2TdeRW5qfK
— Hannah Jane Parkinson (@ladyhaja) August 2, 2019
In case you missed it yesterday, Sonia Sodha’s comment piece on the government’s announcement of a £2.1bn for no-deal planning is well worth a read. Here’s a taste:
It beggars belief that the government is spending billions – £6.3bn so far this year – on contingency planning in case it decides to take us into a self-imposed economic disaster that is entirely avoidable. On the other hand, if Boris Johnson is deluded enough to proceed with crashing Britain out of the EU without a deal – and many of his actions as prime minister suggest that he is – the couple of billion announced this morning will feel like small change compared with what the government and businesses will have to spend to mitigate the long-term economic pain of no deal...
Unless parliament can find a way to stop it, the chances of no deal are increasing by the day. Johnson could have eradicated the need for no-deal contingency spending by being clear he’d never commit to such a grossly negligent act of economic self-harm. But he boxed himself in with his “do or die” rhetoric during the Tory leadership contest. And so money that could have been spent elsewhere – £6.3bn would boost the annual social care budget by almost a third – continues to be spent getting ready for something business leaders have warned Britain can never be ready for. That’s not even taking into account the billions that the CBI says businesses have spent on their own contingency planning.
One thing is certain: if we do crash out with no deal, that £6.3bn will seem like peanuts. If borne out, those OBR forecasts will translate into hundreds of thousands more people losing their jobs; small businesses going bankrupt; people who already struggle to pay the mortgage finding themselves trapped in negative equity. And it’s going to be those areas of the country hardest hit by decades of deindustrialisation and the financial crisis that will feel the economic pain of no deal most sharply.
The Treasury won’t know what’s hit it.
The full article is here.
Updated
Jo Swinson, the Lib Dem leader, has a busy morning ahead in light of the byelection victory, as well as visiting the constituency at 9am, she will be doing a lot of radio.
Catch me this morning talking about yet another brilliant @LibDems win. I'll be on @GMB at 6.40; @BBCRadioScot at 6.52; @BBCBreakfast at 7.10; @BBCRadioWales at 7.25; @bbc5live at 7.35; @BBCr4today at 7.50 and @SkyNews at 8.00. Tune in!
— Jo Swinson (@joswinson) August 2, 2019
Brecon & Radnorshire, result:
— Britain Elects (@britainelects) August 2, 2019
LDEM: 43.5% (+14.3)
CON: 39.0% (-9.6)
BREX: 10.5% (+10.5)
LAB: 5.3% (-12.5)
MRLP: 1.0% (+1.0)
UKIP: 0.8% (-0.6)
Good morning and welcome to the politics liveblog. I’ll be holding the fort for the early shift, before the unparalleled Andrew Sparrow takes over later on.
The big news overnight was that the Liberal Democrats’ candidate, Jane Dodds, won the seat of Brecon and Radnorshire in the byelection, cutting Johnson’s Commons majority to one.
The Liberal Democrats won 13,826 votes, with the Conservatives taking 12,401, a narrow majority of 1,425 that overturned the Tories’ previous majority of more than 8,000. It was a sobering night for the Labour party (1,680 votes), which was beaten into fourth place by the Brexit party (3,331), and only just held on to its deposit. Ukip came last behind the Monster Raving Loony Party.
The defeat will be a major blow to the Tories and will be seized on as a sign voters are concerned by Boris Johnson’s pledge to leave the EU without a deal if necessary.
In her acceptance speech, Dodds said that the vote “sent a powerful message to Westminster: we demand better” and said her first act as MP would be “to find Boris Johnson, wherever he’s hiding, and tell him loud and clear: stop playing with the futures of our communities and rule out a no-deal Brexit.”
Ed Davey, the Lib Dem MP for Kingston and Surbiton, said: “It’s a huge result. Not only is it the Liberal Democrats back in Wales and continues the momentum we had in the locals and Europeans but it’s massive for the party arithmetic over Brexit The Brecon and Radnorshire by-election was the front-line of the stop Brexit campaign. This is going to make Boris Johnson’s job that much more difficult and for those of us who are desperate to stop Brexit it’s a crucial moment.”
The Lib Dem leader, Jo Swinson, will visit Brecon and Radnorshire this morning at 9am, and we will be watching for comment and reaction from MPs as the day unfolds.
As always, stay in touch in the comments, or you can reach me on Twitter or email - kate.lyons@theguardian.com
Let’s do this.
