David Cameron congratulates his successor Robert Courts for winning Witney by-election for the Tories
DAVID Cameron has congratulated his successor as MP for Witney, after the Tories survived a by-election onslaught from the Liberal Democrats.
Barrister Robert Courts secured victory but saw the majority he inherited from the former prime minister slashed from more than 25,000 at last year's general election to just 5,702.
The Lib Dems candidate Liz Leffman came in second with 11,611 – as her party took 30 per cent of the vote, up from 6.8 per cent last year.
Turnout was 47 percent, well down on the general election.
Writing on Twitter this morning, Mr Cameron said: "Many congratulations - you’ll be a great MP and representative for Witney and West Oxfordshire."
Lib Dem party leader Tim Farron said: "The result not only signals that the Liberal Democrats are back in the political big time and the return to three-party politics, it is a clear rejection of the Conservative Brexit government's plan to take Britain out of the single market.
"This was the 10th safest Tory seat in the country with a massive 25,000 majority, yet the Conservatives were seriously rattled," he said.
Labour came in third with 5,765 votes and a 15 percent share - down from 17 per cent in the general election.
This morning Labour's deputy leader Tom Watson played down the defeat, telling the BBC Radio 4 Today programme: "Actually, I thought we did pretty well in Witney, a seat we were unlikely to win. We came third, but our share of the vote was, more or less, the same."
Meanwhile, Labour's Tracy Brabin triumphed in the Batley and Spen by-election and took murdered MP Jo Cox's former seat.
Courts, a 37-year-old barrister from Bladon, Woodstock is the deputy leader of West Oxfordshire District Council and has been a councillor since 2014.
The father-of-one listed transport as a focal point, in particular improvements to the A43 which he writes on his website are "long over due".
After his victory was declared Courts paid tribute to Mr Cameron as "a great prime minister and a brilliant MP."
"It did not matter who you were, where you lived or how you voted, if you had a local issue then he was always happy to help and represent local people - that is something I will strive to do and to continue in my time as Member of Parliament," he said.
"Now we are going to move forward to build a country that works for everyone, our society should work for everyone, our economy should work for everyone and our democracy should work for everyone."
Who were the other candidates?
Liz Leffman – Liberal Democrats
Businesswomen Liz Leffman has been a Liberal Democrat councillor in West Oxfordshire District Council for five years.
She said: “I will be campaigning against cuts by the Conservative County Council that have left many rural villages without buses.
“I will also be fighting for elderly people, who are really suffering due to chronic lack of social care.
“Finally, if I am elected MP I am determined to get the Conservatives to build small, affordable social housing units for young local people, rather than vast executive houses across the countryside.”
Duncan Enright – Labour Party
Another West Oxfordshire councillor, Duncan Enright stood against David Cameron in the 2015 General Election and come second.
He said: “This Tory Government is doing immense damage to our area as they push ahead with plans to turn secondary schools in Witney into secondary moderns by bringing back the bad old days of grammar schools, damage our local economy through failing to invest in local transport infrastructure, and preside over the deterioration of local health services.”
Larry Sanders - Green Party
Larry Sanders is the Oxford-based brother of Bernie Sanders, who fought Hillary Clinton to be the Democratic presidential candidate in this year's US election. Originally from New York, he is a social worker and lawyer, who aimed to reduce inequality and increase the use of renewable energy to combat climate change.
Kenrick 'Dickie' Bird - UKIP
Dickie Bird served in the Army with the Royal Green Jackets, now The Rifles.
He stood as UKIP's candidate for Banbury at the 2015 general election. He said he wanted to "do more to look after all those who have lived and paid tax here for years".
Helen Salisbury - National Health Action Party
Dr Helen Salisbury is an Oxford GP and lecturer at Oxford University Medical School, and stood as the NHA candidate in Oxford West and Abingdon in 2015. She campaigns to end privatisation of parts of the NHS, and increase funding for health and social care.
She said: "The NHS is valued and relied on by all my patients, whatever their politics. The medical students and junior doctors I teach do not want their future to be in multinational healthcare corporations but in the NHS, publicly provided, free and fair."
Daniel Skidmore - Independent
Daniel Skidmore is a fitness instructor from Witney. He has recently been involved in a campaign to save the derelict Witney football stadium from being turned into an office complex, and has criticised the "parachuting" in of candidates into the contest from outside the area.
Mad Hatter - Official Monster Raving Loony Party
Mad Hatter stood in the 2015 general election in Oxford East, and previously for Oxford City Council in 2014. He has previously called for the House of Lords to be rebranded as "The House of Humpty-Dumpty and all the King's Horses and all the King's Men", as well as reducing the minimum voting age to eight.
Nicholas Ward - Independent
Nicholas only stood on one issue - opposing the HS2 rail project. He said he wanted the money to be spent on improvements to existing rail infrastructure and on the NHS: "I believe this High Speed 2 project is a huge mistake and want to try to stop it before it is too late."
David Bishop - Bus-Pass Elvis Party
David Bishop has been fighting for votes since taking on Neil Hamilton in Tatton in 1987. Among other issues, he called for a tax on junk food and fizzy drinks and better daytime television for people on benefits. His greatest success came in 2014 when he beat the Liberal Democrats in a local council by-election.
He said: "Apart from being a keen fan of Elvis, I'm also interested in green issues such as global warming, the destruction of the Amazon rainforest and the attempts by Tesco to take over the high street."
Lord Toby Jug - The Eccentric Party of Great Britain
Lord Toby Jug (real name Brian Borthwick) founded The Eccentric Party of Great Britain in 2015 after leaving the Monster Raving Loony Party. Among his policies are to introduce slot machines on electronic gadgets to stop children spending so much time playing with them and "text lanes" to stop mobile phone users walking into lampposts.
Winston McKenzie - English Democrats
Winston McKenzie, a former boxer and Celebrity Big Brother housemate, stood for the English Democrats, having previously fought elections for UKIP, among others.
The English Democrats call for the creation of a parliament for England and further devolution to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
He was evicted from CBB for his comments on homosexuality.
Emilia Rose Arno - One Love Party
Emilia Arno was raised in Luxembourg and moved to the UK six years ago, to pursue an academic career in arts and education. The One Love Party calls itself "techprogressive" and aims to "unite humanity for world peace".
Adam Knight - Independent
Adam Knight is an entrepreneur and a trustee at London's Roundhouse performing arts venue.
He says he has time to "build a new movement: investing to create prosperity and opportunity for all in society".
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