Sir John Hayes wins South Holland and the Deepings

‘A testament to the common sense of local people’ is how victorious Sir John Hayes has described his latest win.

Conservative Sir John remains the MP for South Holland and the Deepings - a seat that he has held for nearly 30 years.

Sir John had received a total of 17,462 votes of the 46,063 ballot papers that were issued in the 66 polling stations across the constituency (37.9%). His majority has been slashed to 6,856 from the record 2019 result when he had 30,838.

However, Reform candidate Matthew Swainson came second with 10,606 votes while Paul Hilliar (Labour) was third with 9,086. Mark Le Sage (Independent) received 5,031, Jack Braginton (Lib Dem) 1,945 votes while Rhys Baker (Green Party) 1,800.

In a victory speech, Sir John said: “This victory on a very difficult night for the Conservative Party is testament to the common sense of the people of the South Holland and the Deepings.”

He also paid tribute to his family, his team and also the staff who were working on the night.

Speaking shortly after the announcement Sir John said he was honoured to represent the people but had ‘anticipated’ that his majority would be slashed.

He said: “The circumstances are very different to 2019 as we had Brexit. The context here today is very tough one for the Tory Party so to win against that backdrop is remarkable and largely down to the common sense of local people.”

When asked about the Reform result Sir John remarked that it had been a disappointment for Labour and Independents.

He said: “Whether Reform will last, who knows? I fought off UKIP and the Brexit Party. People voted Reform as they wanted a Conservative government that is truly Conservative.”

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