Labour and the Liberal Democrats took three seats each while the Conservatives were left with just one MP in the county
The political landscape in Gloucestershire has changed beyond recognition after a set of historic electoral results has seen all but one Tory MP lose their seats. The Labour Party and the Liberal Democrats now have three county MPs each.
Gloucester, Stroud and the Forest of Dean were all taken by the Sir Keir Starmer's party while Cheltenham, Tewkesbury and South Cotswolds were seized by the Lib Dems. Alex McIntyre, who unseated Richard by overturning a Tory majority of more than 10,000, pledged to serve the whole of Gloucester whether they voted for him or not.
He said he would do everything he can to repay the trust voters had put in him and thanked Mr Graham for his 14 years’ of public service. "I wish to reassure you that I will be a representative for the whole city whether you voted for me or not because I believe in public service,” he said.
In Cheltenham, Lib Dem Max Wilkinson who missed out by only 981 votes in 2019, unseated Tory Justice Secretary Alex Chalk by a margin of 7,210 this time around. The former Gloucestershire Echo reporter said it was a historic night for his party which went on to take 71 seats across the UK.
Mr Wilkinson thanked Cheltenham for choosing hope over fear and promised to serve all equally after winning the election on July 4. In Stroud, Dursley GP Simon Opher was handed a huge majority by the electorate.
He reclaimed the marginal seat from Conservative Siobhan Baillie by overturning her 11,000 majority from 2019. In his acceptance speech, Dr Opher said: “It’s been quite a journey since I first arrived in Dursley as a junior doctor almost exactly 29 years ago, and I have as much to learn now as I did then.
“But I’m motivated by the same things - the desire to do the best I can for the whole community, regardless of who they are or where they’re from. And a strong commitment to serve them and put their needs first.”
He said people across the constituency have been telling him they are desperate for change And his victory was a total repudiation of the “me first”, divisive, self-serving politics of the Tory government and the right wing parties.
Transport secretary Mark Harper was also unseated in the Forest of Dean. He saw Labour’s Matt Bishop overturn his 15,869 majority to win by just 278 votes. Reform UK’s Stanley Goodin came third and polled more than 8,000. The last time Labour had an MP elected in the Dean was 2001.
In Tewkesbury, Liberal Democrat Cameron Thomas pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the night by overturning Tory Laurence Robertson’s 22,410 majority. The Royal Air Force veteran, who served in Iraq and Eastern Europe, believed ahead of the election that he had “the best chance of unseating the longstanding MP” and he was proven right.
Liberal Democrat Roz Savage was successful in her campaign to become the first MP for the newly created South Cotswolds constituency. She received 22,961 votes ahead of former North Wiltshire MP James Gray who polled 17,988.
And in North Cotswolds, Conservative Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown was re-elected with a majority of 3,357. He said ahead of the election that he “travelled to every corner” of the constituency and ran a busy but positive campaign. He is the only Tory MP to retain his seat in the county.
While these results may have come as a surprise to many, there were clues of what was to come during the council elections in May. The Tories were wiped out in Cheltenham and lost control of Gloucester City Council. They were also decimated in the Stroud District Council elections which saw a huge surge in support for Labour.
And last year, the Lib Dems won the Tewkesbury Borough Council elections and now lead a minority administration there while the Green Party is at the helm of the Forest of Dean District Council with tacit support from Labour who gained seats.