by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

for the United Kingdom parliamentary constituency of

Somerton and Frome Somerton and Frome is a constituency in Somerset represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2015 by David Warburton, who was elected as a Conservative, but currently sits as an Independent after losing the Conservative whip in ...

took place on 20 July 2023, following the resignation of the incumbent MP

David Warburton David John Warburton (born 28 October 1965) is a British politician serving as Member of Parliament (MP) for Somerton and Frome. On his election in the 2015 general election he represented the Conservative Party, but was suspended from the p ...

on 17 June. It was the first by-election in

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

since the

1970 Bridgwater by-election The Bridgwater by-election of March 12, 1970 was the first election in the United Kingdom to be held after the voting age had been reduced from 21 to 18.

. The seat was won by the Liberal Democrat candidate

Sarah Dyke Sarah Joanne Dyke (born 1971) is a British Liberal Democrats (UK), Liberal Democrat politician who has been Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Somerton and Frome (UK Parliament constituency), Somerton and Frome ...

Background

Somerton and Frome is a rural constituency in

in the South West of England. The constituency includes the market towns of Somerton, Frome,

Castle Cary Castle Cary () is a market town and civil parish in south Somerset, England, north west of Wincanton and south of Shepton Mallet, at the foot of Lodge Hill and on the River Cary, a tributary of the Parrett. History The word Cary derives fr ...

Langport Langport is a small town and civil parish in Somerset, England, west of Somerton in the South Somerset district. The parish, which covers only part of the town, has a population of 1,081. Langport is contiguous with Huish Episcopi, a separate ...

, Wincanton,

Templecombe Templecombe is a village in Somerset, England, situated on the A357 road five miles south of Wincanton, east of Yeovil, and west of Salisbury. The village has a population of 1,560. Along with the hamlet of Combe Throop, it forms the parish of ...

, Bruton and

Martock Martock is a large village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated on the edge of the Somerset Levels north west of Yeovil in the South Somerset district. The parish includes Hurst, approximately one mile south of the village, and Bow ...

. Frome, the largest community in the seat, acts as a small commercial centre for the surrounding areas. The constituency had been held by Liberal Democrat David Heath from

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

, and was considered to be one of the party's traditional strongholds in the rural

West Country The West Country (occasionally Westcountry) is a loosely defined area of South West England, usually taken to include all, some, or parts of the counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, Bristol, and, less commonly, Wiltshire, Gloucesters ...

. David Warburton was elected as the constituency's MP following the 2015 general election, securing the country's biggest swing to the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

amidst a nationwide collapse in the Liberal Democrat vote. He retained his seat with a majority of over 19,000 votes following the 2019 general election, though with a modest swing towards the Liberal Democrats. Official portrait of David Warburton MP crop 2

Official portrait of David Warburton MP crop 2

In April 2022, Warburton had the Conservative

whip A whip is a tool or weapon designed to strike humans or other animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain. They can also be used without inflicting pain, for audiovisual cues, such as in equestrianism. They are generally e ...

suspended following three allegations of sexual harassment pending investigation by the

Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme The Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme (ICGS) is a scheme set up by the British Houses of Parliament which investigates complaints about inappropriate behaviour, such as bullying, harassment or sexual misconduct, and provides advice to c ...

. He was admitted to a

psychiatric hospital Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental health hospitals, behavioral health hospitals, are hospitals or wards specializing in the treatment of severe mental disorders, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, dissociative ...

the same month for shock and stress. That November, Warburton was found to have breached the MP's code of conduct. The

Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards The Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards is an officer of the British House of Commons. The work of the officer is overseen by the Commons Select Committee on Standards. The current commissioner is Kathryn Stone. Duties The commissioner is i ...

Kathryn Stone Kathryn Elizabeth Stone (born 8 August 1963) was the independent Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards of the British House of Commons from January 2018 until December 2022. Early life Kathryn Stone was born in Derby and grew up in Belper. S ...

, found that there were two breaches of the code, but that they had been rectified after Warburton wrote to Stone "acknowledging and apologising". In January 2023, Warburton revealed his intention to seek re-election at the next general election. The following month, Frome Town Council unanimously passed a

vote of no confidence A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or mana ...

in Warburton. Councillors accused him of failing to hold constituency surgeries since his suspension, which he denied. In April, calls were made for Warburton to resign after a year of absence from Parliament. On 17 June 2023, Warburton announced his intention to resign to '' The Mail on Sunday'', citing his feeling that the parliamentary watchdog denied him a fair hearing over claims he harassed two women. He admitted to taking

cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly recreational drug use, used recreationally for its euphoria, euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from t ...

after drinking whisky with a third woman. Warburton formally resigned from Parliament on 19 June. The by-election took place on 20 July 2023, the same day as by-elections in

Uxbridge and South Ruislip Uxbridge and South Ruislip is a constituency in Greater London represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. The seat has been held by the Conservative Party since its 2010 creation. Since 2015 it has been represented by Boris J ...

and

Selby and Ainsty Selby and Ainsty is a constituency in North Yorkshire represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since its 2010 creation by Nigel Adams, a member of the Conservative Party. History For 2010 the Boundary Commission recommended t ...

. They were the first by-elections being defended by the Conservatives under

Rishi Sunak Rishi Sunak (; born 12 May 1980) is a British politician who has served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party since October 2022. He previously held two Cabinet of ...

Campaign

According to ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...

'', Liberal Democrat insiders claimed that internal canvassing data showed the Conservatives narrowly in first place, on 42%, and the Liberal Democrats in second with 39.5%. Three days before the by-election, ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' published an editorial supporting the Liberal Democrat candidate. Party leader

Ed Davey Sir Edward Jonathan Davey (born 25 December 1965) is a British politician who has served as Leader of the Liberal Democrats since 2020. He served in the Cameron–Clegg coalition as Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change from 2012 t ...

visited the seat six times during the campaign.

Candidates

Eight candidates contested the by-election. The victorious candidate Liberal Democrat

was selected as the prospective parliamentary candidate for the constituency in May 2022. The Conservatives chose Yeovil Town Councillor and Somerset County Councillor Faye Purbrick as their candidate. The Green Party selected Somerset County Councillor Martin Dimery. Both Purbrick and Dimery were unsuccessful list candidates in the South West England constituency at the 2019 European elections. Reform UK chose accountant and business owner Bruce Evans as their candidate. The Labour Party chose civil engineer and UNISON representative Neil Guild as their candidate. Guild was the Labour candidate for

Taunton Deane Taunton Deane was a local government district with borough status in Somerset, England. Its council was based in Taunton. The district was formed on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, by a merger of the Municipal Borough of Ta ...

in the 2015 general election. Railway conductor Rosie Mitchell stood as an independent. The

UK Independence Party The UK Independence Party (UKIP; ) is a Eurosceptic, right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. The party reached its greatest level of success in the mid-2010s, when it gained two members of Parliament and was the largest par ...

chose military veteran and Somerton parish councillor Peter Richardson as their candidate. The Christian Peoples Alliance chose former councillor Lorna Corke as their candidate. She contested

Wells Wells most commonly refers to: * Wells, Somerset, a cathedral city in Somerset, England * Well, an excavation or structure created in the ground * Wells (name) Wells may also refer to: Places Canada *Wells, British Columbia England * Wells ...

for the party at the

2017 general election This national electoral calendar for 2017 lists the national/federal elections held in 2017 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *5 November ...

Results

Previous result

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Somerton and Frome by-election 2023 elections in the United Kingdom 2023 in England 2020s in Somerset

2023 Events Predicted and scheduled events * January 1 ** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1927 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law. ** Croatia will adopt the eu ...