The Conservative MP, who was re-elected to represent the Beaconsfield constituency on July 4, said she is prepared to be ‘a lone voice’ in the new Labour majority government.

Joy Morrissey took the seat from former Conservative Dominic Grieves, who stood as an independent in 2019 after he had the Tory whip removed for objecting to a no-deal Brexit.

And the MP was re-elected by her constituents yesterday (July 4), beating the Liberal Democrats and Labour on a night that saw many of her former colleagues ousted from their seats.

Speaking to the Free Press after her win, Ms Morrissey said she was “thrilled and honoured” to be serving Beaconsfield, Marlow and the surrounding villages again”.

She also said she was looking forward to being a “loud voice in Parliament” – with a history of being “comfortable taking on Labour” after her stint as an opposition councillor in London.

“I’m used to fighting and being a lone voice – I’ve been one of just eight Conservatives in a sea of Labour and as a whip, I work closely every day with the Labour whips. We have to do everything in tandem, so I have a good relationship with them.”

The Tories suffered their worst-ever election result last night and while Ms Morrissey said she was focused on “being a good local MP” rather than the national picture, she admitted that it “isn’t an ideal” situation.

“I was surprised that we had the election when we did. I thought we’d have it in September or October – everyone had just finished their mayoralty campaigns and it felt like quite a surprise.

“I think I’ve resonated with people because instead of launching something new in the last six weeks, I’ve just continued to try to keep those promises that I made in 2019, like to stop greenbelt development.

“It’s an example of where I have prioritised residents, and it’s where my focus will be under a Labour government – stopping development on the Greenbelt because they’re going to declassify everything.”

Anna Crabtree, the Liberal Democrats candidate who finished in second place and has also been vocal about stopping Greenbelt developments like Marlow Film Studios, said that while she was “disappointed” in the result, she was “really pleased” with her party’s overall performance in the polls – describing it as “our best night in decades”.

Ms Crabtree added: “We feel happy with the campaign we’ve run locally and I’m really looking forward to talking to more people in the future and being able to represent them next time around – this is only the beginning for us.”