Fiona Jackson
December 13 2019, 8.00
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Conservative MP Chris Philp secured the seat in Croydon South, defeating his Labour rival Olga Fitzroy by 12,339 votes.
Labour candidate Fitzroy won 18,646 votes, Liberal Democrat Anna Jones won 7,503 votes, Green Party’s Peter Underwood won 1,782 votes, leaving UKIP’s Kathleen Garner with 442 votes.
On his victory, Mr Philp said: “Clearly there’s been a very significant shift nationally this evening with an unexpectedly large Conservative majority.
“I hope we use that majority with humility and with diligence as we face the years ahead and that we can unite the whole country with one nation Conservative policies.
“People are keen to make sure we safeguard the economic prosperity we are enjoying at the moment.with wages growing faster than inflation and unemployment at a 45-year low, but also we want to see more money in public services.”
Philp has had a fruitful career in the Conservative Party since 2015. In 2018, Philp successfully campaigned to cut rates for small businesses and received thanks from Chancellor Philip Hammond.
Additionally, he published a report called ‘Homes for Everyone’, which called for radical changes to housing policy to improve affordability.
Mr Philp added: “Brexit has divided the country, its divided families, its divided political parties. We now need to come together and move forward as a United Kingdom and face the future with optimism and confidence.
“I look forward to resuming serving the people of the constituency straight away.”
Ms Fitzroy responded to Labour’s loss with: “I’m devastated about the national result, there’s loads of people in this country who need a Labour government and I think we’ve failed them.
“I think we all need to reflect, and it’s clear that change is needed.”
59,580 Croydon South residents turned up to vote (70.94 % of registered electors), 1,667 less than in 2017.
