Suella Braverman said she was “honoured and humbled” to have won her selection battle against a fellow Tory MP in the new constituency of Fareham and Waterlooville.Constituency boundary changes meant the Home Secretary had to compete against backbencher Flick Drummond to represent the proposed new seat at the general election, expected next year.
The PA news agency has been informed that Ms Braverman won the vote – which had been dubbed by commentators as the “Battle of Waterlooville” – amongst eligible local members by 77 to 54. After the result, Ms Drummond told PA: “I am incredibly disappointed but will continue to be Meon Valley MP and serve my constituents until the next election.”
In a statement, Ms Braverman said: “I’d like to thank my Conservative Party association for adopting me as their candidate for the new Fareham and Waterlooville seat.
“I’m immensely honoured to have the chance to continue to represent my constituents in parliament. It has been a great privilege to be the MP for this area since 2015 and I will not tire in fighting to bring positive change for the people of Fareham and Waterlooville.
“I also want to thank my parliamentary colleague Flick Drummond MP for her excellent work for the people of Meon Valley.”
Tory party chairman Greg Hands tweeted: “Congratulations @SuellaBraverman for being selected for Fareham & Waterlooville! Boundary changes are important, but some complicated selections are inevitable.
“Flick is a brilliant MP – we are all part of one @Conservatives family & she has the Party’s support for the future.”
The race saw Ms Braverman, an avowed Brexiteer on the right of the party, pitched against pro-European centrist Ms Drummond.The Cabinet minister has been in the spotlight for her efforts to crack down on small boats crossing the Channel, with her rhetoric around migration and “culture war” issues making her a divisive figure, while Ms Drummond is a backbench MP who keeps a low profile.
A number of constituency changes have been proposed across the UK as part of the 2023 boundary review. The review started in January 2021, and its final recommendations are due to be presented by July 1 this year, with changes expected before the next election.
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The Boundary Commission for England has closed its “final consultation” and is considering the feedback received. Its plans would remove the existing Meon Valley and Fareham constituencies, and the two MPs competed for the newly proposed constituency.
Ms Drummond represented Portsmouth South between 2015 and 2017, and has represented Meon Valley since 2019. Ms Braverman has represented the Fareham constituency since 2015.
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