Grieve loses out to Conservative
South Bucks: Ex-Tory warns UK union in ‘serious danger’
The Conservative candidate emerged victorious in Beaconsfield as former Tory Dominic Grieve lost the seat he had held for more than two decades in the general election.
Joy Morrissey, an Ealing councillor, won with 32,477 votes, resulting in a majority of 15,712.
The seat was an interesting one, with Mr Grieve becoming an independent earlier this year after losing the Tory whip, but he failed to win over sufficient voters on his own.
Mr Grieve received 16,765 votes – 19,756 fewer than he received in the 2017 general election.
Labour’s Alexa Collins got 5,756, the Green Party’s Zoe Hatch got 2,033 while other independent candidate Adam Cleary got 837.
Addressing the media after the result, Mrs Morrissey said: “Our win here in Beaconsfield and the Conservative wins we are seeing all over the country, are victories for the many and for the few, and for everyone who knows we just need to get Brexit done and move the country forward.
“It is also a victory for the silent majority of this country whose voices have been heard tonight.”
She added her thanks to Mr Grieve for his work over the past 22 years.
The former Attorney General said in his speech he had made ‘happy memories’ here.
“The past 22 years I have had as an MP for this constituency have been the most immense privilege and I will leave Beaconsfield with the happiest of memories, of friendships and of work done,” he said.
He added: “As far as the future of our country is concerned, I do have concerns about it, because it seems to me that the result of this election is so clear from Northern Ireland and Scotland – [it] suggests that the union of the United Kingdom is now going to be in very serious danger. But time will tell whether the government, with its large majority, is able to navigate those uncharted waters.
“As for myself, I will go now to do all sorts of other things which have been on my mind for some time and I would like to thank you all for your friendship.”
The voter turnout in Beaconsfield was 74.7 per cent, with a total of 57,868 votes cast across the constituency. The number rejected was 167.