Brecon and Radnorshire byelection result: Lib Dems hail win as blow to…

“The local Green Parties in the constituency made a decision, in the light of the critical circumstances of this moment, with the finely balanced parliament in Westminster, to withdraw in order to maximise the chances of a Remain MP.

“That decision is absolutely vindicated by this result. The people of Brecon and Radnorshire have taken the opportunity to cut Boris Johnson’s majority in Westminster to a highly unstable one, reducing further the risk of a disastrous crash-out Brexit.

“And the Green party’s decision was key to that: the Liberal Democrat majority was 1,400 votes. We got 1,300 votes in the seat in 2015, while Plaid Cymru, who also withdrew from the by-election, also got that many votes.

“Of course what we need is a change to the undemocratic voting system, to ensure that everywhere in every nation votes can express their political preferences, vote for what they believe in and get it. But until we elect a parliament in Westminster that will reform our system and bring our politics into the 21st century, we have to work within the system we have.”