British Election Snippets : Labour veteran loses seat of 49 years

Labour veteran loses seat of 49 years

Veteran Labour parliamentarian Dennis Skinner lost the seat he had held for 49 years.

The 87-year-old was beaten by Conservative candidate Mark Fletcher by 5,299 votes.

Mr Skinner - nicknamed the Beast of Bolsover - was defending a majority of 5,288 achieved in 2017.

The former miner and prominent ally of party leader Jeremy Corbyn was not at the count when the result was announced.

BBC presenter Jeremy Vine said Bolsover was the result that took the Conservatives over the line to confirm their emphatic election victory.


Highs and lows for British press

It was a night of exquisite highs and demoralising lows for Britain's partisan press after the election handed Prime Minister Boris Johnson a clear mandate to follow through with Brexit.

The right-wing Daily Express, which has been one of the most fervent supporters of Britain's split from the European Union, called the main opposition Labour party's performance "humiliating". "Boris has done it!" it cheered.

The mood could have hardly been more different in the left corner of the British press, which has backed Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn throughout his difficult campaign. "Nightmare before Xmas," the Daily Mirror said in huge letters on its front page. "Big win," it added in tiny letters under a picture of Mr Johnson. The pro-European Guardian newspaper called the outcome a "shock".

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE


Vote at pubs and used-car centre

Some citizens in the English city of Oxford could have been forgiven for taking their dirty laundry with them when they went to their polling station on Thursday. This was because the Ace Laundrette was pressed into service as a polling station.

There were plenty of odd polling locations across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

In Hampshire, people exercising their democratic privilege could also have checked out cars for sale at the Petersfield Used Car Centre. And in the West Midlands town of Dudley, a rather bare converted shipping container was designated as a voting booth.

More fun was to be had in the picturesque pubs used as voting centres in the countryside. The election also had more traditional polling locations, such as town halls and churches. Given the time of year, voters could not escape Christmas. In the south-west England town of Minehead, a Santa's grotto was used for voting.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on December 14, 2019, with the headline British Election Snippets : Labour veteran loses seat of 49 years. Subscribe