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Sarah Dyke

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Sarah Dyke
MP
Official portrait, 2024
Member of Parliament
for Glastonbury and Somerton
Somerton and Frome (2023–2024)
Incumbent
Assumed office
20 July 2023
Preceded byDavid Warburton
Majority6,611 (13.9%)
Member of Somerset Council
for Blackmoor Vale
In office
9 May 2022 – 17 October 2024
Preceded byDivision established
Personal details
Born1971 (age 52–53)
Political partyLiberal Democrats
Alma materHarper Adams University
Websitewww.sarahdyke.uk

Sarah Joanne Dyke (born 1971) is a British Liberal Democrat politician. She has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Glastonbury and Somerton since 2024 and was previously MP for Somerton and Frome from 2023 to 2024.

Early life and education

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Sarah Joanne Dyke[1] was born in 1971 and comes from a Somerset farming family that can be traced back more than 250 years to the local area.[2][3] She was privately educated at Warminster School and studied agricultural and business studies at Harper Adams University.[2]

Local government career

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Dyke represented Blackmoor Vale on Somerset Council from the 2022 election, and was the council's lead member for environment and climate change, until October 2024.[4] She chaired the regeneration board for the council.[5][6]

Parliamentary career

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Dyke was selected as the Liberal Democrat prospective parliamentary candidate for the constituency of Somerton and Frome in May 2022.[7] On 17 June 2023, David Warburton, MP for Somerton and Frome since 2015, announced his intention to resign from Parliament following allegations of sexual harassment.[8] During her campaign it was reported that Dyke was a supporter of Extinction Rebellion.[9]

At the July 2023 by-election, Dyke was elected as an MP with 54.6 per cent of the vote and a majority of 11,008, on a swing of 29.0 per cent from the Conservatives to the Liberal Democrats.[10] On her election, she commented on the absence of her predecessor, saying: "Instead of an absent Conservative MP letting you down, you have an active Lib Dem MP lifting you up."[11] She was sworn in as an MP on 4 September following the parliamentary summer recess,[12] along with Keir Mather and Steve Tuckwell.[13] Mather, from the Labour Party, was elected for Selby and Ainsty, and Tuckwell, from the Conservative Party, was elected for Uxbridge and South Ruislip in two by-elections held on the same day as Dyke's.

Following the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, Somerton and Frome was abolished as a parliamentary constituency, to form two new constituencies: Glastonbury and Somerton and Frome and East Somerset, which were contested for the first time at the 2024 general election.[11] Dyke was re-elected to Parliament to represent Glastonbury and Somerton, with 42.7 per cent of the vote and a majority of 6,611 over the second-placed Conservative candidate. The BBC calculated that the changed boundaries made the new seat notionally Conservative, so categorised Dyke's victory as a Liberal Democrat gain from the Conservatives.[14][15]

Personal life

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At the time of her election Dyke owned sixty sheep, four dogs and a cat, and ran a second-hand goods business, Vintage Ghetto.[2]

Dyke is openly LGBT+.[16]

References

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  1. ^ "No. 64465". The London Gazette. 22 July 2024. p. 14087.
  2. ^ a b c Whannel, Kate (21 July 2023). "Somerton win means there are 10 Lib Dem women MPs in Commons". BBC News. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
  3. ^ "Lib Dems pick Sarah Dyke for Somerton and Frome". Liberal Democrats. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
  4. ^ Clarke, Lewis (20 June 2023). "Liberal Democrats reveal 'passionate' candidate Sarah Dyke at by-election launch". Somerset Live. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
  5. ^ "Wincanton councillors 'disappointed' by regeneration U-turn". BBC News. 21 January 2023. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
  6. ^ "Councillor details – Councillor Sarah Dyke". Somerset Council. 21 July 2023. Archived from the original on 2 April 2023. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
  7. ^ Pack, Mark (14 May 2022). "Sarah Dyke selected for Somerton and Frome". Mark Pack. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
  8. ^ "David Warburton quits as MP, triggering another by-election". BBC News. 17 June 2023. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
  9. ^ Sawer, Patrick; Somerville, Ewan (30 June 2023). "Lib Dem 'farmers' candidate' in Somerset by-election is pro-vegan Extinction Rebellion supporter". The Telegraph. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
  10. ^ "Lib Dems win Somerton and Frome by-election after ex-Tory MP stood down following drug scandal". Sky News. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
  11. ^ a b "Somerton and Frome by-election: Sarah Dyke promises to be 'active' MP". BBC News. 21 July 2023. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
  12. ^ "Somerset MP Sarah Dyke 'humbled' to take seat in House of Commons". BBC News. 4 September 2023. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
  13. ^ "Parliament welcomes three new MPs as two by-elections triggered". Express & Star. 4 September 2023. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
  14. ^ "Glastonbury and Somerton - General election results 2024". BBC News. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
  15. ^ "General Election result: Glastonbury and Somerton constituency". Somerset Council. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
  16. ^ Reynolds, Andrew (5 July 2024). "Number of out LGBTQ+ MPs falls following election – but Labour has a reason to be proud". PinkNews. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sarah Dyke.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament
for Somerton and Frome
2023–2024 		Constituency abolished
New constituency Member of Parliament
for Glastonbury and Somerton
2024–present 		Incumbent
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