Altrincham and Sale West has its first ever Labour Member of Parliament.
Labour has this morning gained Sir Graham Brady's former seat in a seismic result, overturning a majority of 6,139.
Connor Rand, a former Labour organiser and a senior researcher at shopworkers’ union Usdaw who was only selected as Labour's candidate on May 30th, secured 20,798 votes, a 40.4% share of the vote.
Conservative candidate Oliver Carroll was second, with 16,624 votes and a 32.3% share.
The Tories' share was down 15.7% on the last election in 2019, with Labour's share up 3.6%.
Paul Swansborough (Reform UK) came third, followed by Jane Brophy (Liberal Democrats), Geraldine Coggins (Green Party) and Faisal Kabir (Workers Party of Britain).
The turnover was 69.8%, down from 74.9% at the last general election in 2019.
Here is the confirmed result:
- Connor Rand (Labour) - 20,798
- Oliver Carroll (Conservative and Unionist Party) - 16,624
- Jane Brophy (Liberal Democrats) - 4,727
- Geraldine Coggins (Green Party) - 3,699
- Faisal Kabir (Workers Party of Britain) - 643
- Paul Swansborough (Reform UK) - 4,961
The result ends a century of Tory dominance in Altrincham.
Brady was first elected as Altrincham and Sale West’s Conservative MP in 1997 and was the latest in a long line of Tories to represent the seat.
Even accounting for boundary changes, the area has effectively not selected a non-Conservative MP since the Liberal Robert Alston won in 1923. An election was called the following year and the Conservatives reclaimed the seat.
That has all changed tonight.
Speaking immediately after the result was declared at 4.18 this morning, Rand said: "What an honour and privilege it is to be elected as the first ever Labour Member of Parliament for Altrincham and Sale West.
"Thank you to voters here for putting their trust in our changed Labour party.
"Thank you to those people who had always previously voted Conservative who have voted Labour this time, to turn the page on the chaos, division and decline we have seen.
"Thank you to those who voted tactically to ensure a non-Conservative victory, and a special thanks to those who have always voted Labour even in difficult times, your faith in our party has been rewarded.
"There are many other thanks I need to give. To my wonderful agent and the leader of Trafford Council, Tom Ross. To the amazing volunteers, members and activists who have done the campaign and given up so much of their time and effort. To my ever-understanding and patient family, including my partner Catherine, and of course every one both today and tonight, including the returning officer, all the polling station staff, the counters here and the police who have made this count possible."
Rand also thanked his predecessor Sir Graham Brady for his "27 years of service".
He added: "Tonight is a historic night. It's a great night for the Labour party and more importantly, it's a great night for our country. It's the final damning verdict on 14 years of wasteful, divisive and self-indulgent Conservative government.
"The country has elected our changed Labour Party to bring people together, to rescue our our National Health Service and to deliver economic stability and competent government and that is exactly what we will do.
"People here in Altrincham and Sale West have joined the rest of the country in voting for change. They understand the huge scale of the challenges we face, they know there is no quick fix, but they also know we will do whatever it takes to change our country and to give Britain its future back.
"We will put neighbourhood police officers on our streets here, we will clean up our local waterways and work to give every child in Altrincham and Sale West the best possible start in life.
"And so to the people of Altrincham and Sale West: thank you. I promise I will work tirelessly to be your voice in Westminster. I will always listen to you and I will always fight for you. Thank you very much."
