Chesham and Amersham by-election win for Lib Dems a ‘warning shot’ to Tories in Horsham and the South

The remarkable result of the Chesham and Amersham by-election offers hope to those who care about the future of Horsham writes reader Paul Clarke, of Queensway, Horsham.

Every week, your correspondence columns are filled with impassioned protests against the destruction of Rookwood golf course, the threat to the wonderful rewilding experiment at Knepp Castle and the possible impact of other such local developments.

Now comes evidence that Conservative voters in a comparable ‘blue wall’ seat, faced with similar threats from the relaxation of planning laws, have seized on the obvious solution: vote them out.

A one-party state is never a healthy one. If power is unchallenged, those that wield it, whether of the left or of the right, are prone to arrogance, complacency, inefficiency and corruption; not to mention contempt for those they are in power to serve.

The Chesham and Amersham result will serve as a warning shot across the bows and remind this government not to take southern votes for granted.

Better still, let the Liberal Democrat, Labour and Green parties combine to form a progressive alliance to truly ‘build back better’.