Lib Dems hopeful of knocking another brick out of the Tory Blue Wall

The Liberal Democrats are hoping to overturn a more than 19,000 majority to win the Somerton and Frome by-election from the Conservatives on Thursday.

The Liberal Democrat’s candidate for the Somerton and Frome by-election Sarah Dyke (Ben Birchall/PA) (PA Wire)

In Frome town centre people are enjoying their day, relishing the sunshine and a break from the heavy rain and gales of the last few days.

Some are sitting in cafes; some are perusing the windows of the many independent shops that adorn the town’s cobbled streets.

But for others, it marks the last few days of a frantic few weeks where eight candidates are trying to convince the voters of Somerton and Frome they are the best person to become the constituency’s new MP.

The rural constituency borders the neighbouring counties of Wiltshire and Dorset to the east and Glastonbury to the west.

Within its boundaries includes Bruton, which is fast becoming competition to the Cotswolds in attracting members of the Notting Hill set.

The campaign bandwagons rolled into a picturesque part of south Somerset following the resignation of David Warburton MP on June 19.

He had been elected in 2015 as a Conservative but had for the previous 12 months sat as an independent amid allegations of sexual harassment and cocaine use.

Yet trouble is brewing for the Conservatives in this corner of Somerset, as the Liberal Democrats are hoping to repeat their recent by-election successes in Chesham and Amersham, North Shropshire and Tiverton and Honiton.

They need to overturn a majority of 19,213 to retake the seat they held from 1997 to 2015 and puncture another hole in what has been dubbed the Conservatives’ Blue Wall.

That majority may seem a tall order, but they overturned greater numbers and came from third to win in both North Shropshire and Tiverton and Honiton.

Leader Sir Ed Davey has made several visits to the constituency and party activists have flooded in from across the country.

A textbook Lib Dem campaign has seen so many leaflets delivered that signs are now appearing on doors asking for no more party literature.

The neon glare of a Lib Dem stakeboard — “Winning Here!” — is a regular feature on the streets of Frome.

The party’s candidate is Sarah Dyke, a Somerset Council councillor and former member of South Somerset District Council. She lives in the constituency and is from a Somerset farming family.

On Monday afternoon she is joined by Daisy Cooper MP, the party’s deputy leader and health spokeswoman, for a visit to a GP practice in Frome.

The Lib Dems appear in buoyant mood, and you sense they think it is going their way.

But if they are winning, they are giving nothing away.

Ms Dyke says she is taking nothing for granted and insisting everything is still all to play for ahead of Thursday.

She has been campaigning hard since she was first selected 12 months ago shortly after Mr Warburton was suspended by the Conservatives.

“People are frustrated, they’re angry, and they’re fed up without having that representation in Parliament and within the constituency,” she said.

“And people deserve better, and they want better and they’re telling me that they want change and they’re telling me that they want me to be that change.

“I’m taking every day as it comes and working really, really hard.

“To me the most important thing is to go out and reach as many people as I can and talk to as many people as I can. That is going really well and the reception on the door is really positive.”

Nobody was really angry with me

Tory candidate Faye Purbrick

She gently rebuffs any suggestions she might be under more pressure because the level of expectation is much greater than with recent Lib Dem by-election wins.

“We’ve had great results in the last few years with by-election wins,” she said.

“But here in Somerset, we have got a great legacy of hard working Liberal Democrat MPs.

“We had David Heath here in the constituency between 1997 and 2015 and last year in the local elections we won control of Somerset Council.”

She was being supported by deputy leader Daisy Cooper who was visiting to talk about the party’s plan to recruit 8,000 more full-time GPs.

Ms Cooper said she had spoken to many people in the constituency who had had enough of the Conservative Government.

“I think everybody just feels like everything is broken right now,” she said.

“Whether it’s the cost of living crisis, whether it’s seeing a GP, whether it’s trying to access a dentist, whether it’s mortgage rates, whatever the issue is, people just feel like everything is really hard work right now.

“They’re absolutely sick to the back teeth of this Conservative Government. They are absolutely sick of the fact they have been taken for granted.”

Despite the bookies favouring a Lib Dem win, the Conservatives remain bullish, with candidate Faye Purbrick, a Somerset councillor and former cabinet member, describing her campaign as “brilliant” and saying a vote for her would be a “proactive” vote to elect an MP who would deliver.

“There’s lots of support, lots of good feedback, energy levels are high,” she said.

“I’ve been a county councillor for the last six years here in Somerset, holding various cabinet roles, so I’ve got a good grasp across the whole area and a track record of delivering.

“I have also been working with MPs across the area to make a difference to the way things work in Westminster for Somerset as well.

“The fact that we’ve got a Conservative Government, I’m the candidate who can hit the ground running from day one.”

She said she had spoken to many voters and her campaign was focusing on rural crime, the “right homes in the right places”, and employment and education opportunities.

“Nobody was really angry with me,” she said.

“I mean there were those people obviously who vote for other parties and have always voted for other parties.

“We speak to everybody and ultimately, as an MP, we represent everybody, so I always try and understand what the challenges are for those people as well.

“There are lots of supporters who have been with us for many years and sticking with us because of what I’ve delivered and what I’ll be able to deliver.”

She cited the Government energy bills package and the recent range of measures to help people pay their mortgages as examples of the Conservatives delivering.

“Even in places like Bruton there are people who are struggling. Just because everything seems shiny on the outside and there are rich people across the whole constituency, there are those people who are just getting on with life as well,” she said.

“I know things are tough right now, there are people who are struggling, and that’s why they need a strong MP who can help signpost towards things like the £94 billion cost-of-living package that we announced in the Autumn Statement.

“It’s about everybody working together to support the most vulnerable and to create opportunities so that people can thrive.”

– The candidates standing in the Somerton and Frome by-election on July 20 are:Lorna Corke (Christian Peoples Alliance);Martin Dimery (Green);Sarah Dyke (Liberal Democrat);Bruce Evans (Reform UK);Neil Guild (Labour);Rosie Mitchell (Independent);Faye Purbrick (Conservative);Peter Richardson (UK Independence Party).