South Shropshire election result: Tory Stuart Anderson replaces Philip Dunne in renamed constituency

Stuart Anderson was elected as Conservative MP for the newly-named South Shropshire constituency – which had replaced the previously named 'Ludlow' constituency due to boundary changes.

It means the Conservatives held onto the area, which has been blue since 2005, when former Ludlow MP Philip Dunne first won the seat.

Mr Dunne stood down ahead of this election, opening up the opportunity for Mr Anderson to stand.

The result proved close, with Reform taking a sizeable bite out of the Conservative vote.

Mr Anderson won with 17,628 votes, beating Lib Dem candidate Matthew Green, who secured 16,004 votes.

Charles Shackerley-Bennett, for Reform, polled 9,171 votes, while Labour's Simon Thomson took 6,939.

For Mr Green, who was drafted in as candidate at a late stage, the result was bittersweet, having come close to securing the seat he won in 2001, and lost in 2005.

In his victory speech, Mr Anderson said he wanted to "honour Philip Dunne".

"I want to thank the people of South Shropshire believing in me, trusting in me, and out of the thousands of doors I've knocked I get your message," he said.

"I get you've not been happy with things, but you've given me a chance, and we're together going to embark on a plan to see that South Shropshire remains the best place in the country to live."

Asked about his emotions at the victory, and his thoughts on why the public had backed his campaign, he said: "I am absolutely delighted and I put it down to a few things – the work Philip Dunne has done for 19 years has left the constituency in a brilliant place, the team I have had around me, and 12 months of clear strategy to reach as wide and as deep as we can into South Shropshire."

Mr Anderson said he would now be concentrating on addressing the messages delivered by the voters on the campaign trail.

He said people had consistently raised the issues of access to healthcare and potholes – both of which would be a focus as he begins his term.

He said: "People need to feel confident in a rural community that they are not forgotten about."

Speaking after the result Mr Green that despite the loss his party could be proud of delivering a huge swing in the vote share – around 24 per cent.

He said: "It is actually an impressive result for the Liberal Democrats. The local team has delivered a really rather stunning swing."

The full results for South Shropshire are:

Stuart Anderson - Conservative: 17,628

Matthew Green - Liberal Democrats: 16,004

Charles Shackerley-Bennett - Reform UK: 9,171

Simon Thomson - Labour: 6,939

Hilary Wendt - Green Party: 1,911