Labour may not have secured enough seats to form their own government but they did manage to stage a major upset to take the London seat of Kensington by a hair’s breadth to end the 2017 General Election.
Almost 24 hours after the polls closed, Emma Dent Coad saw off Tory incumbent Victoria Borwick, overturning the former city deputy mayor’s 7,000 majority from 2015 by just 20 votes in a large swing to the opposition.
It took a third recount to get the result on Friday evening, but now for the first time in history, the west London seat which had been in the hands of the Conservatives since its establishment in 1974 belongs to Labour.
Labour's @emmadentcoad has won the #Kensington seat by 20 votes – taking the seat from Conservatives #BBCElection
— Barry Caffrey (@BarryCaffrey) June 9, 2017
Another demonstration that every vote counts ! #GE17 https://t.co/GR9euSeUNO
— Julia Heap (@julia_heap1) June 9, 2017
Although, the internet had a lot to say about how much time it took to finally declare a victor.
Someone send this guy to Kensington to help out, will ya? pic.twitter.com/jQ5hBIiBaq
— Simon Price (@simon_price01) June 9, 2017
It is 2084. Kensington begins its 945th recount. All candidates have died. The tellers no longer know what these pieces of paper mean.
— Stephen Coltrane (@sjcoltrane) June 9, 2017
The Conservatives also suffered another surprising defeat in Canterbury, a seat which they have held for the last 99 years. In an unexpected turn of events, the Tories lost the constituency for the first time since the First World War, with Labour’s Rosie Duffield securing 25,572 votes to dislodge Tory candidate Sir Julian Brazier with a margin of just 187 votes.
What is it, a 20% swing in #Canterbury? #Labour wins a seat the #Conservatives have held since 1918! #GE2017
— Aliya Nazki (@AliyaNazki) June 9, 2017
Can confirm Labour takes Canterbury – first time since 1918
— Laura Kuenssberg (@bbclaurak) June 9, 2017
It means that the Tories end the campaign with 318 seats to Labour’s 262, eight shy of an overall majority.