Witney by-election: Conservatives hold on to David Camerons former seat

The Conservatives have held on to former Prime Minister David Camerons seat but with a sharply reduced majority. Robert Courts won the seat with a majority of 5,702 votes, 45% of the ballot. David Cameron had previously won with a majority of more than 25,000 votes.

The Conservatives have managed to hold on to former prime minister David Camerons seat but with a sharply reduced majority.

Robert Courts won the seat with a majority of 5,702 votes or 45% of the votes. In 2015, Cameron secured 60% of the votes with a majority of more than 25,000 votes.

The Liberal Democrats came in next, with local councillor Liz Leffman polling 11,611 votes or 30% of the votes. The LibDem Voice says that the Witney by-election is the biggest Conservative to Lib Dem swing since the 1997 Winchester by-election.

Labours candidate Duncan Enright came in third, taking in only 5,765 votes. Enright, who took second place in the 2015 election against Cameron for the Witney seat, was among those who had called on Corbyn to quit as leader of the party earlier this year.

Larry Sanders, Green Party activist and the brother of former Democrat presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders, came in fourth, with 1,363. Ukip was pushed into fifth place with 1,354 votes.