General Election 2024: Labour’s Daniel Zeichner re-elected as Cambridge MP - and looks forward to first role in government
Labour’s Daniel Zeichner has been re-elected as the MP for Cambridge.
He secured 19,614 votes, beating the Liberal Democrat candidate Cheney Payne, who secured 8,536 votes, into second place.
Third place was Sarah Nicmanis of the Green Party with 6,842 votes.
The turnout was 60.4 per cent and the results were announced at around 3.15am.
With Labour sweeping to victory in the polls, Mr Zeichner is looking forward to playing his role in forming the new government.
It marks a fourth consecutive term for Mr Zeichner. First elected in 2015, when he ousted Liberal Democrat Julian Huppert, Mr Zeichner was re-elected in 2017 with an increased majority. He won again comfortably in 2019, albeit with a slightly reduced share of the vote.
Cambridge - General Election 2024 result
Khalid Abu-Tayyem (Workers Party of Britain) - 951
David Carmona (Independent) - 819
Keith Garrett (Rebooting Democracy) - 265
Shane Manning (Conservative) - 5,073
Sarah Nicmanis (Green) - 6,842
Cheney Payne (Liberal Democrats) - 8,536
Daniel Zeichner (Labour) - 19,614 ELECTED
Turnout - 60.4%
Speaking after his win, Mr Zeichner voiced his happiness not only at his win in Cambridge, but also at the emerging national picture of Labour gains.
He said: “I am absolutely thrilled to be re-elected as the Member of Parliament for Cambridge, but looking at the results around the country it does look as if it is likely to be a Labour government and that is a very big change for me.
“My entire time in parliament has been in opposition, this is a real thrill, the prospect of having a government that I can support and hopefully be a part of.”
Mr Zeichner shared what he hoped a Labour government would mean for the country.
He said: “I very much hope the chaos and instability that everyone has suffered from over the last few years is replaced by a period of calm and stability, because I think that would be the thing that would really help people get back on track.
“I have been really struck by just how hard the cost of living crisis has hit so many people. The country can be much better than this and I genuinely think Keir Starmer can lead a much better government.”
The Conservative government had set out plans to grow Cambridge, including a potential 150,000 new homes. Mr Zeichner shared his thoughts on how a Labour government would respond to planning for the city’s future.
He said: “I’m delighted to say that Mr Gove has left the stage, I think he has done huge harm to our country.
“I was not impressed by his so called plan for Cambridge, there are much better plans for Cambridge and I look forward to working with lots of different people, cross party here to try and find a solution to this really key problem which is that far too many people it is almost impossible to afford to live in or around Cambridge.”
Is Mr Zeichner hoping for a Cabinet position in a Labour government?
He said: “Well for tonight I am just very happy to be the Member of Parliament for Cambridge. We will see what unfolds over the next few days, but the key thing is that it will be a different government, it is a change and it should give people cause for hope and optimism.”
Additional reporting: Hannah Brown, Local Democracy Reporter
