Election round-up: Fri 5 Jul, 2024
By David Grantham
Counting ran through the night in the sports hall at Donyngs
Just after 4.30 this morning, at Donyngs leisure centre in Redhill, Conservative Rebecca Paul was elected as Reigate’s new MP with 35.4% of the vote, overcoming a strong challenge from Labour’s Stuart Brady who garnered 29.4%.
The other parties were some way behind. Reform achieved third place with 13.6%, while the Liberal Democrats had to settle for fourth (12.7%), and the Greens fifth (8.8%).
This general election was fought on new boundaries (Opens in a new window), which saw the Reigate constituency expand to take in the whole of the north of the borough, but with the loss of parts of Horley that had been previously in the seat, and the departure of the ward of Hooley, Merstham and Netherne.
Speaking at the podium after her result, Paul said: “First and foremost I want to thank the residents of Reigate, Redhill, Banstead, and our villages, that put their faith in me.
“Being elected as your representative in Parliament is the greatest honour of my life and I will work tirelessly for our area and for you. I will never forget that it was you that have put me here and I will work to serve you.
“This has been a challenging election, and one of great importance for our country. For me personally one of our greatest priorities must be to restore trust in politics and parliament and set and maintain high standards. I hope to be part of this, and lead on this.”
After thanking council staff who ran the election, as well as her team and family, she added: “I also want to thank my fellow candidates. It’s been a privilege to run in this election alongside you and I’ve learned a huge amount along the way. It’s not easy to run in a general election and you certainly made it easier by shared experiences.
“And now the hard graft starts: I look forward to getting to work for the benefit of Reigate, Redhill, Banstead and the villages.”
The candidates at a hustings during the campaign, at St John’s in Redhill. L-R: Brady, Essex, Paul, Johnston, Fox
Turn-out was 69%, a little down on 2019’s figure of 72%, when Conservative Crispin Blunt was re-elected.
On share of the vote, the Conservatives’ 35.4% this time is the lowest they’ve ever received in Reigate, certainly for a century, although boundaries have of course shifted over that time.
This was also the first election in recent years where tactical voting could have affected the outcome, as previously the Conservatives have enjoyed more than 50% of the vote, from 2010 onwards, and before that at least 47% in the first decade of the millennium.
Paul, who is a county councillor, had not contested the Reigate parliamentary seat before, and neither had Stuart Brady (Labour) or Mark Johnston (Lib Dem).
Joseph Fox (Reform UK) is more of a veteran of Reigate elections, having fought the Reigate seat three times previously under the UKIP banner and achieving second place in the election of 2015, prior to the Brexit referendum.
A still more familiar figure at Reigate parliamentary contests is Jonathan Essex (Green), this time making his fifth attempt at the seat. On the last two occasions, 2019 and 2017, he came fourth out of five, ahead of UKIP, but this time had to settle for fifth out of five.
That’s in sharp contrast to the Greens’ fortunes at the borough council. There, after successive local election successes, Essex has been progressively joined by 12 colleagues since 2010, making the Greens by far the largest opposition party at borough level. (The current chamber make-up is: 19 Conservatives, 13 Greens, 7 Resident, 4 Lib Dems, 2 Labour). As well as his borough duties, Essex is also a familiar face as a county councillor.
The dust is still settling on today’s events, but after the result I was able to briefly ask Labour’s Brady for his reaction. He said: “I’m really proud of the campaign we put on. We ran them close.
“I’m glad that we’ve closed the gap. We've proven what we've said all along: that we're the main challenger here and I think if that message had got through earlier, maybe we'd have got closer.
“But I’m really pleased with the campaign we've put on and the hard work we've put in, and it's been good fun.”
Asked whether he would try again, in Reigate or elsewhere (a question which did not really deserve an answer at 5am, from a presumably exhausted candidate shortly after an election defeat), Brady sounded positive: “I did quite enjoy this, I love politics, I love speaking to people. I love trying to sort out problems for people.”
Among early messages from other parties spotted on social media, Johnston for the Lib Dems has thanked (Opens in a new window) everyone in the Reigate constituency who supported him in his campaign, adding: “Congratulations to Rebecca Paul on her success. I found her committed and principled and wish her well in the new parliamentary term.”
“Over time, we need a fairer voting system that avoids wasted and tactical voting. We also need a more honest, more collaborative politics to face up to the big social, economic, and environmental challenges ahead. As the cycle begins again, so that work begins afresh.”
Green candidate Essex has tweeted (Opens in a new window)“Thanks for all those who voted Green here in Reigate. Please join today, and help us carry on the work for a fairer greener Redhill, Reigate and Surrey.”
BBC results for this election in Reigate are here (Opens in a new window)
Reigateuk’s coverage of the previous General Election in 2019 is here (Opens in a new window)
Parliament page applying new boundaries to 2019 results is here (Opens in a new window).
Wikipedia on the history of the Reigate constituency is here (Opens in a new window).
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