Suella Braverman has won a contest against backbencher Flick Drummond to continue as an MP, in what has been dubbed as the “Battle of Waterlooville”.
The two Conservatives went head-to-head for a new proposed constituency of Fareham and Waterlooville, which will be created due to boundary changes in the Hampshire area.
Ms Braverman, the home secretary, won a vote of eligible local Tory party members by a slim majority of 77 to 54.
“I am honoured and humbled to have been adopted by Conservatives members to be their Parliamentary Candidate for the new Fareham and Waterlooville constituency,” Ms Braverman wrote on Twitter.
Ms Drummond said she was “incredibly disappointed” by the election result but said she would “continue to be Meon Valley MP” until the next election, a position she has held since 2019.
The new constituency will scrap the existing constituencies of Meon Valley and Fareham.
This is just one of a number of proposed constituency changes that have been proposed across the UK as part of the 2023 boundary review.
The review will present its final recommendations on 1 July, after being launched in January 2021. Changes are expected to be implemented before the next election.
Ms Braverman’s successful win comes on the same day that the Home Office confirmed a giant vessel docked off the Dorset coast will be used to hold hundreds of asylum seekers.
Despite legal threats from local Conservatives, the barge, called the Bibby Stockholm, will be berthed in Portland Port for at least 18 months and will accommodate about 500 single adult males while their claims are processed.
The accommodation was described as “basic” with healthcare provision, catering facilities and 24/7 security by the Home Office.
