GE2024: Tories hold Kenilworth and Southam

The Conservative Party has won Kenilworth and Southam, with incumbent MP Jeremy Wright holding the seat despite a massive swing against him.

Wright, who has represented the seat since 2005, won 19,395 votes (36.4%), a decrease of 22.6 points from his performance in 2019. His closest challengers, Labour’s Cat Price and the Liberal Democrats’ Jenny Wilkinson, won 12,821 votes (24.1%), and 10,464 votes (19.6%), respectively.

The Conservative MP, who served as Attorney General under Prime Ministers David Cameron and Theresa May from 2014 to 2018, survived despite a challenge by Reform UK, whose candidate Jacqui Harris won 6,920 votes (13.0%).

Alix Dearing, representing the Green Party, won 3,125 votes (5.9%), whilst candidates Nick “Blunderbuss” Green of the Monster Raving Loony Party, and Paul De’Ath of UKIP, took less than 1% of the vote each.

Wright will find himself as one of few Conservative MPs to have survived what was a punishing night for the UK’s governing party

Turnout in the constituency was 71.2%, markedly higher than in many of the surrounding constituencies, though lower than the 77.2% recorded in 2019.

Having successfully defended his seat, Wright will find himself as one of few Conservative MPs to have survived what was a punishing night for the UK’s governing party.

The Conservative Party suffered what is thought to have been the worst-ever result in the modern party’s history, having won just 118 seats as of 7:30am, with 11 left to declare. 12 sitting Cabinet ministers lost their seats, with other high-profile casualties including former Business Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg, and former Prime Minister Liz Truss.