The Witney by-election: everything you need to know

Posted by Oxfordshire Liberal Democrats | Updated 2016-10-21

Last night saw the results of the Witney by-election - we started the campaign in 4th place as 50/1 outsiders and thanks to the relentless, positive campaign we ran, dented the Conservative majority and secured one of our best by-election results in decades. This is what you need to know:

1: If this result was repeated across the UK, the Tories would lose their majority

With a 19.3% swing to the Liberal Democrats, we’d take 26 seats from the Conservatives - that would easily cost them their Parliamentary majority - even with the Labour party in freefall.

2: This was the biggest swing to the Lib Dems in a by-election since 1997

The Witney by-election saw a swing from the Conservatives to the Lib Dems of 19.3% - that’s the biggest by-election swing to the Lib Dems since 1997’s Winchester by-election.

We achieved a 19.3% swing to us last night

3: Labour can’t take on the Tories

Tonight, we leapfrogged the Labour party and beat them into second place - their vote was significantly down on 2015 and this is a damning indictment of the ability of Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party to win seats from the Tories.

4: We’re back

Tonight’s result saw our vote go up by 23.4% - that’s the biggest increase in the Lib Dem share of the vote since the Romsey by-election in 2000 and it clearly shows we’re back in business - our campaign took us from 4th place to 2nd - and it clearly shows that we can take the fight to this Conservative Brexit Government.

5: The voters of Witney sent Theresa May a message

Last night, the voters of Witney sent a message to Theresa May - that she can’t ignore - they voted against a hard Brexit, they voted against coming out of the single market and they voted against the Conservatives reckless, divisive agenda.

6: If you voted remain, you need to join us

Last night's result shows that we are the real opposition to this Conservative Brexit Government - but to do this in a general election, we need you.

We need you, to join us and build a movement of remain voters who will be the real opposition to this Conservative Brexit Government - and win.

Find out more about our work - sign up for emails today:

Share this post on social media:

Can we keep you updated?

Yes, I'd like to get emails from the local Liberal Democrats.

The Liberal Democrats may use the information you provide, including your political opinions, to further our objectives and share it with our elected representatives. Any data we gather will be used in accordance with our privacy policy: www.libdems.org.uk/privacy You can exercise your rights and withdraw your consent to future communications by contacting us: [email protected] or: DPO, Lib Dems, 1 Vincent Square, SW1P 2PN.