General Election: Liberal Democrats win Maidenhead seat to end 27-year Tory hold

Joshua Reynolds has been announced as the new Liberal Democrats MP in Maidenhead, which has been held for the past 27 years by the Conservatives.

With 21,895 votes, the 25-year-old borough councillor steps in to replace former prime minister and MP Theresa May, who stood down earlier this year. 

Voter turnout in Maidenhead was 67.18 per cent - a drop from the 2019 election (73.7 per cent) with 50,845 votes cast. 

On his victory, Mr Reynolds thanked staff, his team and his family, adding: "It's an honour to be elected as the Member of Parliament for Maidenhead, a place I've always been proud to call home."

He also thanked the 'wonderful' voters of Maidenhead, who said 'they need a change'. 

"People from right across Maidenhead are fed up of being taken for granted. They know that St Marks isn't what it used to be, they know our rivers and waterways are polluted, and they're fed up with our public services not working properly," Mr Reynolds added.

"People know that they deserve better."

The Liberal Democrats received a 43.5 per cent vote share in Maidenhead which is a 19.7 increase since the last election. 

The Conservatives had held Maidenhead since the constituency was first created in 1997. Candidate Dr Tania Mathias received 18,932 votes. 

Labour's Jo Smith took third place with 5,766 votes and Andrew Cooney, representing the Green Party, followed with 1,996.

Independent candidates, George Wright and Qazi Yasir Irshad received 791 and 431 votes respectively. 

The Social Democratic Party, represented by Tim Burt took 518. 

Conservative candidate Dr Tania Mathias tweeted to offer her congratulations to Mr Reynolds, and paid tribute to all the other candidates for 'conducting their campaigns with respect and civility'.