PUCKLECHURCH has a Liberal Democrat MP after Claire Young won the Thornbury & Yate seat from Conservative Luke Hall.
The Frampton Cotterell councillor and – at the time of the election – South Gloucestershire Council leader defeated Mr Hall by 3,014 votes at the third time of asking, having also stood for her party in 2017 and 2019.
Ms Young overturned a majority of 12,369 from the 2019 election. Her party had previously held the seat and its predecessor, Northavon, from 1992 until 2015, when Mr Hall beat Lib Dem Steve Webb.
It was one of 79 seats won by the Lib Dems on what Ms Young said was a “truly historic night” for her party, with “gains around the country in places we would never have expected”.
She thanked party leader Sir Ed Davey and the “wonderful people here in Thornbury & Yate”, adding: “Thanks for sharing your concerns with me, and for the warm welcome I’ve received across the constituency over the last few weeks and the last few months.
“It’s a huge privilege to be elected to represent you in Parliament, and I look forward to standing up for everyone, however you voted.
“I will be a strong voice for our communities, especially on tackling the cost-of-living crisis, ending the sewage scandal and fixing the health and care crisis.”
Defeated Mr Hall congratulated his successor, and wished her the best in representing the constituency.
He said: “I very much hope that I fought a positive campaign, based on the issues that people in our community care about the most, but the desire for change has been great, and this is clearly a horrendous night for the Conservative Party.
“Divided political parties, focussed upon themselves rather than the issues that matter to our constituents get punished at the ballot box, and quite rightly so.
“I have always believed that South Gloucestershire is the best place in the country to live, work and raise a family, and I am hugely grateful to have had the opportunity to serve for the past nine years.
“I am proud of the progress we made together, and will continue to do whatever I can to support our community.”
A strong performance by Reform UK, the party led by Nigel Farage, saw its candidate Andy Banwell come third, with 7,529 votes – more than twice the size of the Lib Dem majority.
The Party’s predecessor, the Brexit Party, had not stood in Thornbury & Yate in 2019 after deciding unilaterally not to stand against Conservative MPs.
Reform pushed Labour, who were concentrating their resources on other target seats nearby, into fourth place, with the Greens coming fifth.
Result:
Claire Young (Lib Dem) 20,815
Luke Hall (Conservative): 17,801
Andy Banwell (Reform UK) 7,529
Rob Logan (Labour) 5,057
Alexandra Jenner-Fust (Green) 2,165
Majority: 3,014
Turnout: 68.44%.