Ealing Central and Acton election results: Victorious Rupa Huq says Theresa May 'got her comeuppance'

John Dunne @jhdunne9 June 2017
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Labour candidate Rupa Huq said Theresa May had “got her comeuppance” after massively increasing her majority against a pro-Brexit Tory candidate.

In a shock result she raised her wafer thin majority of 274 in Ealing Central and Acton to 13,807 with rival Joy Morrissey well beaten.

Huq, a former sociology lecturer who is married with a son, had admitted before the poll she was “fighting for my political life” and at just after 2am she discovered she had prevailed after a tough campaign.

She attributed the victory at least in part to the Conservatives fielding a pro Brexit candidate in an area which voted overwhelming for Remain.

Huq told the Standard after her win: “Theresa May and the Conservatives got their comeuppance. It was arrogant to call an early election and to put a pro Brexit candidate here was a big mistake.

Victory: Rupa Huq
Matt Writtle

“Theresa May came here during the campaign, they were targeting this seat but the people here rejected them. I now have a much increased majority and that came from very hard campaigning.

“Brexit was a big issue on the doorstep but we also campaigned on schools and hospitals. I am from a local family, that really helped as well.”

From just after midnight Labour became confident of victory but the scale of the majority was unexpected. Huq was clearly relieved after she had been tipped as one of the scalps the Tories could have claimed. A mere 0.27 per cent swing to the Conservatives would have delivered them victory but Huq more than clung on and smashed expectations.

General Election Night 2017 - In pictures

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She said in her victory speech: “The democratic will of the people has prevailed. They called this the Brexit election but we also fought this election on hospital cuts and school cuts. We fought this on my record.”

On a personal note she added that the death of her mother had made the campaign particularly tough.

She said: “This has been a time of personal sadness for myself and my sisters. We had to undergo the death of our mother in Ealing Hospital. “

Her sister Konnie, a former Blue Peter presenter who is married to writer and broadcaster Charlie Brooker, gave her sister a hug after her win.

She said: “Our mother would have been so proud of her. It’s so sad she was not here to see it. My sister has run an amazing campaign.”

Rupa Huq had played up her pro Remain credentials during the campaign as well as her local connections with three generations of Huq hailing from Ealing.

The turnout of just over 74 per cent was three per cent up on the last general election.

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