Former South West Bedfordshire MP 'grateful to have served constituents' after losing seat he held for 23 years

On Friday, the new constituency of Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard turned red as Labour’s Alex Mayer took the seat, becoming the first woman to represent the area since 1966.

Ms Mayer won the seat beating Conservative candidate Mr Selous, the former South West Bedfordshire MP, by just 667 votes.

Mr Selous was first elected in 2001 and was re-elected four times until last week. Reflecting on his loss, he said: “It has been a huge privilege to represent this wonderful area for 23 years. I wish my successor all the very best in tackling the many challenges in this constituency.

"I’m very grateful to have had the opportunity to serve my constituents.”

The Conservatives lost 244 seats from their 365 seats in 2019, while Labour became the largest party with 412 seats and the largest majority government in 25 years.

In the area, there were 76,742 and 60 per cent went to vote at the polls. The newly-elected MP said: “It’s a great honour to serve the people of Leighton Buzzard, Dunstable, Houghton Regis and villages. This is a once in a generation moment of change.“Keir Starmer changed the Labour Party and I am proud to be part of a Government that can now start to change the country. It won’t be easy and there will be tough decisions and trade offs ahead.“This is a victory for integrity: no more one rule for them, another for everyone else.”