Alex Chalk ousted: 'It's been a terrible night'
Alex Chalk, former justice secretary, lost his seat in Cheltenham
- Published
Justice secretary Alex Chalk says it has been a "terrible night" but is "proud to be a Conservative" despite losing his Cheltenham seat.
The 2024 General Election saw constituents across Gloucestershire's seven seats - including the new North and South Cotswolds seats - vote for their MP.
Notably, Chalk lost his seat in Cheltenham, where he had been MP since 2015, as did transport secretary Mark Harper, who had been MP of the Forest of Dean since 2005.
It has been a monumental night in Gloucestershire, with the all-blue county turning into a rainbow of parties overnight.
Speaking to the BBC following his defeat, Chalk said he was "really proud" of his record in Cheltenham.
"As I said, you know, a lot of investment for the town save the A&E, lots of good things," he said.
"But I think we also have to recognise we've been in power for 14 years and there are seasons in politics and the refrain of 'It's time for change' is one of the most powerful messages in politics."
On a historic night many seats in our area changed hands but who were the big winners?
In Tewkesbury, Laurence Robertson, who had represented the Tory stronghold in Parliament since 1997, lost his seat to Cameron Thomas of the Liberal Democrats.
Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown bagged 17,426 votes in the North Cotswolds, part of which forms the seat he has held since 1992, while the South Cotswolds turned yellow, with Roz Savage replacing James Gray.
In Gloucester, Richard Graham, the city's MP since 2010, was replaced by Labour's Alex McIntyre, and Stroud's Siobhan Baillie lost her Conservative seat to Dr Simon Opher, also of Labour.
The Forest of Dean, meanwhile, turned red, with transport secretary Mark Harper losing his seat to Labour's Matt Bishop.
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