Re-elected Twickenham MP Munira Wilson says she wants to make children a top priority in the new government.
In what was a fantastic night for the Liberal Democrats, they enjoyed huge victories in Twickenham and Richmond Park, as the party surged throughout south west London and the country.
Wilson defended the Twickenham seat with 30,185 votes, a majority of more than 20,000 over Conservative candidate Jonathan Hulley’s 8,728 votes.
In Richmond Park, Sarah Olney increased her majority over the Conservatives by almost 10,000 votes as she won 55.5% of the vote.
Wilson said: “I want to keep working on many of the issues that I was working on in the last parliament.
“Not least children’s mental health which is in crisis not just here in Twickenham but right across the country.
“I want to see children as a far greater priority for the new government because they’ve been utterly neglected by the last government.
“I’m just truly grateful to the residents of Twickenham for putting their trust in me in huge numbers.”
Wilson said she was delighted by the national result of the Liberal Democrats, who have gained more than 70 seats in this general election, a huge increase from the 2019 election.
She said: “We’re taking Conservative constituencies all across the country and again we’re just humbled that millions of voters have put their trust in the Liberal Democrats.
“They’ve elected strong local Liberal Democrat champions to represent them fighting on issues that people care about.
“We put health and care front and centre in our manifesto along with ending the sewage scandal and the cost-of-living crisis, and I think people have responded to that in droves as we can see from the results across the country.
“We’re just absolutely delighted and we’re determined to hold the new Labour government to account every day in parliament.”
In both of these south-west London constituencies, the Conservative party’s share of the vote dropped by nearly 20%, allowing for the huge majorities enjoyed by both Liberal Democrat candidates.
In Richmond Park in particular, the Conservative vote dropped from 26,793 in 2019 to 11,373.
Olney said: “I am feeling quite overwhelmed actually, it’s a huge result, and I just feel so grateful and proud that the people of Richmond Park have re-elected me as their MP.”
Regarding her huge majority, she admitted: “It hasn’t really sunk in. It’s such a privilege to be the MP for Richmond Park, it really really is.
“I think that people have come out and voted for me this time round on the basis of my record. It’s really special.”
Olney said that the upswing in Liberal Democrat gains nationally attests to the resurgence of the party as a serious political contender again, following the disastrous results of the centrist party back in 2015.
She said: “I am so delighted. We’re back as a major political force in the UK.
“We’ve had a tough few years but we are completely back.
“We’ve run a really brilliant campaign, a really optimistic, focused-on-the-issues campaign, and I think people have really responded to that.
“I cannot wait to hear from my new colleagues when I go back to parliament next week and I’m so excited and grateful that people have voted for the Liberal Democrats across the country.”
In her victory speech, Olney said: “The Liberal Democrats are a force to be reckoned with in this new Parliament.
“We will hold the new government’s feet to the fire to ensure that they deliver.”
Feature image of Munira Wilson and her team thanks to Hana Rajabally
