New MP for Ludlow as election results announced

The new MP came in first place in the constituency, with 17,628 votes, while former MP and Liberal Democrat candidate Matthew Green came in second place with 16,004 votes.

Also standing for election in the constituency were Charles Shackerley-Bennett for Reform, with 9,171 votes, Simon Thomson for Labour, with 6,939 votes, and the Green Party's Hilary Wendt, who achieved 1,911 votes.

Overall turnout in South Shropshire was 68 per cent, Shropshire Council said.

While the result means that the Conservatives have held the South Shropshire seat, against a backdrop of catastrophic losses for the party across the rest of the country, Mr Anderson is the first new MP for the constituency in almost 20 years. 

Former MP Philip Dunne announced last year that he would be standing down at the next election after serving as MP for the area since 2005.

He said at the time that social media had transformed the accessibility of MPs and that the expectations of constituents had evolved since he was first elected. 

"I have been honoured to have played my part in helping individual constituents with their issues, sending some 100,000 letters or emails on their behalf. But also in striving to help the community as a whole in looking to make the Ludlow constituency a great place to live and work," Mr Dunne said.

New MP Mr Anderson who, inspired by his father's SAS career, served in the army, later went on to work in the defence and security industry. 

He said he believes his experiences from his time in defence and security provided him with a real-world grounding that he can apply to supporting local communities, while his experiences of recovering from a gunshot wound in the early days of his military career, have left him wanting to use his life experience to make a difference.

In North Shropshire, Liberal Democrat Helen Morgan won the seat with 26,214 votes, while Labour's Julia Buckley won 22,932 votes in Shrewsbury.