Janet Daby has become Labour’s newest MP after winning the Lewisham East by-election.
Only a third of eligible voters cast their ballot as Ms Daby held the seat with a majority of 5,629, well below the 21,213 Heidi Alexander achieved at the 2017 general election when turnout was 69%.
The Liberal Democrats leapfrogged the Conservatives to take second place in a seat which voted heavily for Remain in the European Union referendum.
Ms Daby said the result showed “we will not tolerate an extreme Brexit in Lewisham East”.
Ms Daby picked up 11,033 votes – a 50.2% share, down nearly 18 percentage points from Ms Alexander’s vote share in 2017.
Lib Dem Lucy Salek had 5,404 votes, a 24.59% share, while the Conservative Ross Archer had 3,161 votes, a 14.38% share.
Ms Daby said: “We refuse to stand by and let a Tory government devastate our schools, our health service and our housing.”
The result put the Lib Dems up more than 20 percentage points, with a swing of nearly 19% from Labour to Lib Dem.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here