How did Zac Goldsmith lose?
The Liberal Democrats have managed a huge victory to unseat Zac Goldsmith in the Richmond Park by-election, with a 23,000 majority.
Sarah Olney was the winning Lib-dem candidate. She managed to take a fraction just under 50 per cent of the entire vote to record a majority of 1,872, many local Labour voters backed her.
Olney only arrived on the politics scene last year and is a local accountant.
She said during a speech: “And our message is clear: we do not want a hard Brexit. We do not want to pull out of the single market. We will not let intolerance, division and fear win.”
Olney managed to win a huge 20,510 votes. She is the Lib Dems ninth MP in this parliament and is currently the only woman.
Goldsmith has held the seat since 2010 when he took it from the Lib-dems, he had resigned in protest when the government decided to back a third runway at Heathrow. He stood as an independent in the byelection and argued that it should be a gauge of local opinion on the airport expansion.
However, the Lib Dems based their debate around Brexit, they argued that one of the most pro-remain constituencies in the country should have a say on being represented by an MP who supported leave.
The Lib Dem leader, Tim Farron, told the Guardian: “This was a remarkable, come-from-nowhere upset that will terrify the Conservatives … If this was a general election, this swing would mean the Conservatives would lose dozens of seats to the Liberal Democrats – and their majority with it.”
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