Voters go to the polls in ‘neck and neck’ Chesham and Amersham by-election
Voters will go to the polls today for the Chesham and Amersham by-election, with the Liberal Democrats aiming to secure an upset victory.
City A.M. first revealed on Tuesday that internal polling by the Lib Dems had the party just four points behind the Tories, who have held the constituency since it was formed in 1974.
A party spokesperson said today that the Buckinghamshire by-election is “neck and neck” and will “go down to the wire”.
The constituency is named after the two market towns, with both acting as key commuter hubs for professional London workers.
Chesham and Amersham are the last two stops on the Metropolitan Tube line.
The Tories won the Buckinghamshire constituency in the 2019 General Election, with 55.4 per cent of the vote to the Lib Dems’ 26.3 per cent.
However, the Lib Dems won control over the Amersham Town Council in last month’s local elections, giving the party hope that it could cause a giant upset.
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said earlier this week that the party had focused the campaign around its opposition to government planning reforms.
“We have been campaigning against it anyway in many parts of the country and our campaigning on planning has taken off here,” Davey said.
“People are really worried, particularly Conservative voters, that the government is going to allow a developers charter.”
The by-election was scheduled after Dame Cheryl Gillan died earlier this year.
She had served as the MP for Chesham and Amersham since 1992.
The Conservative candidate Peter Fleet and Liberal Democrat candidate Sarah Green are both local to the constituency.