As expected, the Liberal Democrats have won the Brecon and Radnorshire by-election – thereby reducing Boris Johnson’s majority to one. The news ought not to come as much of a surprise. Ahead of the vote, the Tories appeared to be doing everything they could to lose it. The by-election itself was triggered following a recall petition after Tory MP Chris Davies was found guilty of submitting a false expenses claim. Despite this, Davies was chosen to stand again rather than a new Conservative candidate.
While some Tories have been campaigning in the area, it could hardly be described as all hands on deck in the lead up to the election. Brecon and Radnorshire only turned blue at the 2015 election and there was a sense that by selecting Davies the Tories wanted a reason for losing it which couldn’t be used to attack their new leader.
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