By Harry Mottram: Wera Hobhouse for the Liberal Democrats has returned to Westminster this week as the city’s member of the house of commons – Bath’s MP – and the latest incumbent of the role that began in 1295. However despite her majority on July 4th, 2024, of 11,218 she saw a drop in her share of the vote overall by 12.1% compared to the previous election in 2019. It is clear that the drop to 41.% share from over 50% was due to the Green Party’s Dominic Tristram who in an electoral pact with the Lib Dems did not stand in the last election. His vote share was up by 12.1% from when Eleanor Field had stood for the party in 2017 and close to Dominic’s share in 2015 when he was the Green’s candidate.
Wera Hobhouse polled 19,883, Labour’s Dan Bewley was second with 8,665, James Wright for the Conservatives had 7,659 votes, Dominic Tristram pulled in 5,952 and Reform’s Teresa hall was pushed into fifth place despite their national surge in support with 5,798. Westmoreland Councillor Colin Blackburn polled 1,749 while Matthew Alford of the Workers Party had 230 supporters, Bill Blockhead had 169 votes and ANON came last with 25 votes. Dan Bewley for Labour pushed the Conservatives into third place – marking a return to Bath’s politics for the party of Kier Starmer – the nation’s seventh Labour Prime Minister. For James Wright it will have been a disappointment but nationally the Conservatives lost scores of MPs and their vote share shrank so no surprise really.
Wera Hobhouse said she was delighted to be re-elected as the MP for Bath and has joined the group of 72 Liberal Democrats in Parliament – the largest grouping of the successor to the old Liberal party to just after World War 1 in 1918. Upon returning to Parliament, she said her priorities were to concentrate on help Bathonians in the cost-of-living crisis, in tackling the climate emergency and boosting the NHS and public services as Ed Davey’s party seek to hold the newly elected Labour Government to account.
Wera Hobhouse said: “I am truly honoured to have been re-elected as the Member of Parliament for Bath. It is a real privilege to represent our wonderful city and its inspiring residents. I owe a huge thank you to everyone who supported my campaign, offered warm words of encouragement and all those who came out to vote for me.
“Voters in Bath and across the country have taken this opportunity to put an end to the years of Conservative mismanagement and chaos. Now is the time to stand up for our communities, put public services and the NHS back at the heart of our nation, and accelerate the shift towards cleaner energy for a greener future.
“I am looking forward to continuing to serve Bath, championing local voices and creating national impact for our community.”
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