The Housing Minister Gavin Barwell lost his seat in Croydon Central last night after a bitterly fought battle that saw Labour’s Sarah Jones win by 5000 votes.
Jones had lost to Barwell by 165 votes in 2015 and her party had seen the seat as a key target.
A jubilant Jones told supporters after what had been a tense run-up to the announcement: “Thank you for having faith in me and a united Labour party.” She also said a special thank you to young voters, saying: “The most interesting difference [since 2015] is young people. They have won this election and they have taken back control.”
It was a victorious night for Labour in Croydon North too, where their MP Steve Reed held his seat easily beating his Conservative rival by 32,365 votes.
His majority rose to 74.2 per cent, from 62.6 per cent in 2015. He told supporters: “Tonight, Croydon has chosen hope and voted for change. This change must now come.”
Croydon South was held by the Conservative MP, Chris Philp, who saw his majority remain at around 11,000 – 54.4 per cent. He spoke of his sadness at Barwell losing his seat, saying: “Gavin has been a fantastic member of parliament and he did not deserve to lose and I’ve really enjoyed working with him.”
Barwell said the defeat would allow him to “spend more time with his wife and three boys” and both Jones and Reed commended him for his service to Croydon over his seven years as MP in Croydon Central.
Turnout was high across the three constituencies, Croydon South at 73.3 per cent, Croydon North at 68.3 percent and Croydon Central at 71.5 per cent.
RESULTS
CROYDON CENTRAL
Sarah Jones – Labour – 29,873/52.3 per cent
Gavin Barwell – Conservative – 24,221/42.4 per cent
Gill Hickson – Liberal Democrats – 1,083/1.9 per cent
Peter Staveley – UKIP – 1,040/1.8 per cent
Tracey Hague – Green – 626/1.1 per cent
John Boadu – Christian People’s Alliance – 177/0.3 per cent
Don Locke – Independent – 71/0.1 per cent
CROYDON NORTH
Labour
Steve Reed – Labour – 44,213 votes/ 74.2 per cent
Samuel Kasumu Conservative – 11,848 votes/ 19.9 per cent
Maltby Pindar – Liberal Democrat – 1,656 votes/ 2.8 per cent
Peter Underwood – Green – 983 votes/ 1.6 per cent
Michael Swadling – UKIP – 753 votes/ 1.3 per cent
Lee Berks – Independent – 170 votes/ 0.3 per cent
CROYDON SOUTH
Chris Philp – Conservative – 33,334/55.4 per cent
Jennifer Brathwaite – Labour – 21,928/35.8 per cent
Anna Jones – Liberal Democrats – 3,541/5.8 per cent
Catherine Shelley – Green – 1125/1.8 per cent
Kathleen Garner– UKIP – 1116/1.8 per cent
David Omamogho – Christian People’s Alliance – 213/0.3 per cent
Fantastic news. And great to see this mean spirited, entitled little Tory gerbil lose his job.
I give him about 8 weeks as T May’s human shield before she is forced to resign. Great career move.