Tulip wins Hampstead & Kilburn, and increases Labour’s majority to 1,100
It’s all over. Tulip Siddiq has won Hampstead & Kilburn for Labour by just 1,138 votes. In the context of the evening, that’s not a bad result for Labour.
The final votes
Tulip Siddiq (Lab) 23,977
Simon Marcus (Con) 22,839
Maajid Nawaz (LD) 3,039
Rebecca Johnson (Green) 2,387
Magnus Nielsen (UKIP) 1,532
Ronnie Carroll (Eurovisionary party) 113
Robin Ellison (U Party) 77
Yes, Tulip picks up Glenda’s baton and runs with it. However, I was struck by the turnout. According to the BBC, it was 67.3%. Which means more people didn’t bother to vote – some 26,000 – than voted for Tulip.
In other news, 5 million UKIP votes = 1 (possibly 2) MPs. Less than 2.5 million SNP votes = 56 MPs. Does that make our electoral system a good or bad thing?