Every MP Who Defected From Labour Or Tories Has Lost Their Seat

Only Luciana Berger stood a chance of winning a seat, but trailed the Tories in second.
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Labour and the Conservatives were rocked earlier this year when a string of MPs quit en masse to form The Independent Group (eventually, Change UK) over Brexit and anti-Semitism.

Most of them then quit Change UK to join the Lib Dems, some going independent along the way.

In some cases, they were veteran MPs who likely hoped that their personal popularity would overshadow party loyalties among the electorate, and that they would be returned to parliament. 

Except that isn’t what’s happened.

All 11 of the MPs who quit Labour or the Tories have lost their seats. Only former Labour MP Luciana Berger was on track to take Finchley and Golders Green for the Lib Dems from Conservative Mike Freer, but she too failed to get over the line.

Before they fade into obscurity, here’s a rundown of some names you might not hear again for a while...

 

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Chuka Umunna photographed in 2016.
Jack Taylor via Getty Images

 

Luciana Berger

Seat: Finchley and Golders Green

Defection: Labour to Change UK to Independent to Liberal Democrats

Result: Despite a positive showing from BBC’s exit poll analysis, she failed to win the seat from Mike Freer. She took 17,600 votes to Freer’s 24,162.

 

Sarah Wollaston

Seat: Totnes

Defection: Conservative to Change UK to independent to Liberal Democrats

Result: A Conservative hold – Wollaston’s gamble was a failure with 15,027 votes to Anthony Mangnall’s 27,751.

 

Mike Gapes

Seat: Ilford South

Defection: Labour to Change UK

Result: A Labour hold – Gapes’s gamble was a failure, after Labour’s Sam Tarry stormed to victory with a majority of 24,137 to Gapes’s 3,891.

 

Sam Gyimah

Seat: Kensington

Defection: Conservative to independent to Liberal Democrats

Result: Tory candidate Felicity Buchan won with 16,768 votes, while Gyimah received 9,312.

 

Chris Leslie 

Seat: Nottingham East

Defection: Labour to Change UK

Result: A Labour gain – Leslie’s gamble was a failure with just 1,447 votes.

 

Gavin Shuker

Seat: Luton South

Defection: Labour to Change UK to independent 

Result: A Labour hold – Shuker’s gamble was a failure with 3,893 votes.

 

Angela Smith 

Seat: Penistone and Stocksbridge

Defection: Labour to Change UK to independent to Liberal Democrats

Result: Smith lost in Altrincham and Sale West.

 

Chuka Umunna

Seat: Cities of London and Westminster

Defection: Labour to Change UK to independent to Liberal Democrats 

Result: Conservative hold – Ummuna’s gamble did not pay off with 13,096 votes.

 

Phillip Lee

Seat: Wokingham

Defection: Conservatives to Liberal Democrats

Result: A Conservative hold – Lee’s gamble amounting 23,351 votes was a failure.

 

Ann Coffey

Seat: Stockport

Defection: Labour to Change UK

Result: A Labour hold – Coffey’s gamble was a failure.

 

Antoinette Sandbach

Seat: Eddisbury 

Defection: Conservatives to independent to Liberal Democrats

Result: A Conservative hold – Sandbach’s gamble was a failure, finishing a distant third with 9,582 votes.