Conservative former Justice Secretary Robert Buckland loses seat, in Labour's first gain from Tories
On the 5th of July in the year 2024, a blog post was made at 12:19 am and later updated at 1:54 am on the same day.
Sir Robert Buckland, who served as the Justice Secretary for the Conservative party, has been defeated in the General Election. This loss marks the first win for Labour over the Tories in this election.
Formerly representing Swindon South with a comfortable margin of over 6,000 votes, Sir Robert was defeated by Labour's Heidi Alexander.
Labour received 21,676 votes, while the Conservatives came in second with 12,070 votes. Reform UK secured third place with 6,194 votes. This is the first time Labour has taken a constituency from the Tories in this election.
Sir Robert has been in charge of the seat since 2010, prior to that it was a Labour area for many years.
He criticized his fellow Conservative party members after losing, stating: "I've seen my colleagues in the Conservative Party posture, write provocative articles, and make unsubstantiated claims instead of focusing on their responsibilities."
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Discover more: Exit poll for General Election foresees a Labour victory with a significant lead of 170 seats.
Sir Robert served as the Justice Secretary from 2019 to 2021 and briefly held the position of Secretary of State for Wales in 2022. Prior to that, Sir Robert was the Solicitor General from 2014 to 2019 and also served as the prisons minister in 2019.
Ms Alexander, the recently elected Member of Parliament, represented the area of Lewisham East in London from 2010 to 2018. She later resigned from her position to take on the role of deputy London mayor for transport, working alongside Sadiq Khan.
She declared after the outcome was revealed that she was determined to bring back a sense of honor and chances to her hometown.
Ms Alexander stated: "We will work together to restore Swindon's reputation in a positive way."
Natasha discusses the results of the poll as people were leaving.
Labour is predicted to see significant victories overnight, with a large majority expected in the exit poll.
Many government officials are predicted to lose their positions, such as Chancellor Jeremy Hunt and Defence Secretary Grant Shapps.
The initial poll results indicate a huge victory for the Labour party, as they are projected to win 410 seats, giving them a significant majority of 170 seats.
At the moment, the Conservatives are on track to win 131 seats, which would be the fewest number of Tory MPs ever recorded.
Surveyor examines the data from the poll conducted after people have voted
The survey on voter opinions predicts that the Liberal Democrats will win 61 seats, Reform UK will secure 13, and the Green Party will attain two seats.
In Scotland, it is predicted that the SNP will win 10 seats, while Plaid Cymru in Wales is expected to secure four.
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