Mortgage adviser Mike Thornton has been elected as MP for Eastleigh after winning the by-election sparked by Chris Huhne's resignation.
Former energy secretary Huhne quit as an MP after pleading guilty to perverting the course of justice. Results announced overnight showed broker Thornton had triumphed for the Liberal Democrats, despite strong competition from UKIP's Diane James and Conservative candidate Maria Hutchings. He garnered 13,342 votes in the contest, compared to James' 11,571 and 10,559 for Hutchings. Thornton had been working as a broker at Southampton-based Simply Finance and had also been a councillor since 2007. Thornton told BBC News that he would be looking to use his skills from the mortgage i...
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