Election Result: Reform victory in Ashfield with Lee Anderson re-elected

Lee Anderson has been re-elected as Ashfield MP after defecting from Conservative to Reform.

It’s the primary time Reform UK has ever had an elected MP and comes after the previous Tory beat Labour’s Rhea Keehn into second.

Ashfield Impartial candidate Cllr Jason Zadrozny, who can also be chief of Ashfield District Council, completed in third place.

Turnout was 58 per cent, the bottom within the constituency since 2005.

Mr Anderson mentioned he desires his “nation again” after he was declared the winner, and promised Ashfield would play a component in that.

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Nevertheless, different candidates expressed concern about “the politics of hate and division.”

It was a second of defeat for Labour on an evening which noticed them obtain an anticipated landslide victory and success throughout Nottinghamshire.

Mr Anderson was elected because the Pink Wall’s seat’s first Conservative in many years in 2019, however was kicked out of the celebration earlier this yr over feedback about London Mayor Sadiq Khan.

He joined Nigel Farage’s Reform UK Celebration, changing into its first MP.

His majority of round 5,500 stays nearly unchanged from his 2019 election win.

Talking after his victory, he mentioned: “I received right here 4 years in the past as a Conservative candidate. The folks of Ashfield backed me, and so they’ve now backed me as a Reform.

“I mentioned a couple of weeks in the past that there can be a looking on election evening. Ashfield, which is the capital of frequent sense, goes to have a large say in how this nation is formed sooner or later.”

Mr Anderson refused to talk to the media for a number of minutes after his victory as he waited for a stay look on GB Information, the place he hosts a present however finally gave up.

Counting at Kirkby Leisure Centre proceeded unexpectedly rapidly as a result of decrease turnout.

Labour candidate Rhea Keehn mentioned: “There’s a priority that the politics of hate and division are on the rise.

“My workforce have executed an outstanding job in pushing again in opposition to the rise of the far proper and Reform.”

Jason Zadrozny got here second to Mr Anderson in 2019 however was pushed again into third.

“Labour have been in a position to leapfrog me as folks see them as a automobile for change, however between me and Lee, there’s a large anti-establishment vote in Ashfield,” he mentioned.

He insisted that he would work with the re-elected MP in his day job as Ashfield District Council chief.

“We could have totally different opinions on a variety of issues however he does care about Ashfield.

“We’ll work collectively the place we now have frequent floor. The partnership with the council remains to be there.”

Conservative Debbie Solomon fell was a distant fourth, regardless of the celebration profitable the seat in 2019.

Alexander Coates of the Inexperienced celebration was in fifth, and Liberal Democrat Daniel Holmes in sixth.

Full outcomes:

Lee Anderson (Reform): 17,062

Rhea Keehn (Lab): 11,553

Jason Zadrozny (Ash Ind): 6,276

Debbie Soloman (Con): 3,271

Alexander Coates (Inexperienced): 1,100

Daniel Holmes (Lib Dem): 619