Key players hold their seats

Prominent utilities policy makers hold seats in turbulent general election

Key players in the formation of energy and environmental policy for both the Labour and Conservative parties have held their seats overnight in the general election.

Greg Clark, secretary of state for business, energy and industrial strategy (BEIS), secured his Tunbridge Wells constituency for the fourth time, though his majority was cut by 6,000 votes compared to 2015.

Energy minister Jesse Norman won back his Hereford and Herefordshire South seat with 27,004 votes. Labour achieved an 11 per cent increase in its share of the local vote, compared to the last general election.

And Nick Hurd, who holds responsibility for climate change and industry at BEIS, lost 2.3 per cent of the vote share in Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner but still held the seat with 57 per cent of the vote.

Labour’s energy spokespeople won convincingly in their constituencies.  

Shadow energy minister Alan Whitehead received 58 per cent of the votes in Southampton Test, increasing Labour percentage share of the vote by 17.4 per cent.

Whitehead’s colleague Rebecca Long-Langley, shadow BEIS secretary also significantly increased Labour’s share in her constituency of Salford and Eccles.

The Conservative’s Andrea Leadsom, who held the position of secretary of state for environment and rural affairs before parliament was disolved, took 68 per cent of the vote in Northamptonshire South while her opposition counterpart, Sue Hayman, prevailed in Workington.

Home secretary Amber Rudd, who was formerly energy secretary, nearly suffered an upset in her Hastings seat. She won by a margin of just 346 votes.

Future positions for all these players remain uncertain following news that the UK once again faces a hung parliament, with the Conservatives losing their majority.