2023 Somerton and Frome by-election

A by-election for the United Kingdom parliamentary constituency of Somerton and Frome took place on 20 July 2023, following the resignation of the incumbent MP David Warburton on 17 June.

It was the first by-election in Somerset since the 1970 Bridgwater by-election. The seat was won by the Liberal Democrat candidate Sarah Dyke.

Background
Somerton and Frome is a rural constituency in Somerset in the South West of England. The constituency includes the market towns of Somerton, Frome, Castle Cary, Langport, Wincanton, Templecombe, Bruton and Martock. Frome, the largest community in the seat, acts as a small commercial centre for the surrounding areas.

The constituency had been held by Liberal Democrat David Heath from 1997 to 2015, and was considered to be one of the party's traditional strongholds in the rural West Country. David Warburton was elected as the constituency's MP following the 2015 general election, securing the country's biggest swing to the Conservative Party amidst a nationwide collapse in the Liberal Democrat vote. He retained his seat with a majority of over 19,000 votes following the 2019 general election, though with a modest swing towards the Liberal Democrats.

In April 2022, Warburton had the Conservative whip suspended following three allegations of sexual harassment pending investigation by the Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme. He was admitted to a psychiatric hospital the same month for shock and stress. That November, Warburton was found to have breached the MP's code of conduct. The Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, Kathryn Stone, found that there were two breaches of the code, but that they had been rectified after Warburton wrote to Stone "acknowledging and apologising".

In January 2023, Warburton revealed his intention to seek re-election at the 2024 general election. The following month, Frome Town Council unanimously passed a vote of no confidence in Warburton. Councillors accused him of failing to hold constituency surgeries since his suspension, which he denied. In April, calls were made for Warburton to resign after a year of absence from Parliament.

On 17 June 2023, Warburton announced his intention to resign to The Mail on Sunday, citing his feeling that the parliamentary watchdog denied him a fair hearing over claims he harassed two women. He admitted to taking cocaine after drinking whisky with a third woman. Warburton formally resigned from Parliament on 19 June.

The by-election took place on 20 July 2023, the same day as by-elections in Uxbridge and South Ruislip and Selby and Ainsty. They were the first by-elections being defended by the Conservatives under Rishi Sunak.

Campaign
According to The Observer, Liberal Democrat insiders claimed that internal canvassing data showed the Conservatives narrowly in first place, on 42%, and the Liberal Democrats in second with 39.5%.

Three days before the by-election, The Guardian published an editorial supporting the Liberal Democrat candidate. Party leader Ed Davey visited the seat six times during the campaign.

Candidates
Eight candidates contested the by-election.

The victorious candidate Liberal Democrat Sarah Dyke was selected as the prospective parliamentary candidate for the constituency in May 2022.

The Conservatives chose Yeovil Town Councillor and Somerset County Councillor Faye Purbrick as their candidate. The Green Party selected Somerset County Councillor Martin Dimery. Both Purbrick and Dimery were unsuccessful list candidates in the South West England constituency at the 2019 European elections.

Reform UK chose accountant and business owner Bruce Evans as their candidate. The Labour Party chose civil engineer and UNISON representative Neil Guild as their candidate. Guild was the Labour candidate for Taunton Deane in the 2015 general election.

Railway conductor Rosie Mitchell stood as an independent. The UK Independence Party chose military veteran and Somerton parish councillor Peter Richardson as their candidate. The Christian Peoples Alliance chose former councillor Lorna Corke as their candidate. She contested Wells for the party at the 2017 general election.