Chris Williamson loses seat with just 635 votes
Former Labour MP who was accused of playing down and denying antisemitism in the party is ousted by the Tories
Chris Williamson, who resigned from Labour after being suspended over allegations of antisemitism, has lost his seat in the general election.
The final result came in Derby North where Williamson was defeated by the Conservatives’ Amanda Solloway, who gained the seat with 21,259 votes.
Williamson garnered just 635 votes – losing his deposit.
Chris Williamson loses deposit. Gains just 635 votes – not far off the number of times he was allowed to offend the Jewish community before finally being suspended by Labour https://t.co/qMjXelCryx
— Justin Cohen (@CohenJust) December 13, 2019
Williamson reacted to the news on Twitter on Friday morning, writing: “It was an amazing privilege to represent my home town in parliament. I’ve always stood by my principles and I always will. That was and is – my way..”
Williamson stood as an independent after Labour chose not to endorse him for the seat, selecting instead Tony Tinley, who secured 18,719 votes.
The former Labour MP and shadow minister was suspended in February after footage emerged of him telling activists the party had been “too apologetic” in its handling of antisemitism allegations.
Readmitted with a formal warning in June, he was suspended again days later after a review of the decision. Labour imposed a separate suspension in September over additional allegations.
Williamson lost his legal bid in October to be reinstated. Justice Pepperall said Labour’s decision to suspend him in July was “unlawful”, but ruled the “new disciplinary case must run its course.”
He handed in his resignation letter from Labour in November after being a member for 44 years.
In the letter branded by the Jewish Labour Movement (JLM) as “racist,” he accused party officials of “capitulating” to the JLM, one of the party’s oldest affiliates.
Williamson won back the seat from the Conservatives in the 2017 general election by a majority of 2,000 votes.
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