Steve Baker has explained why he lost his Wycombe seat and why Reform UK ‘laid waste’ to the Conservative Party in the July 4 general election.

The former Tory MP and Northern Ireland minister was ousted from the constituency he held for 14 years by Labour’s Emma Reynolds, who emerged with a majority of more than 4,500 votes.

In an 8am interview with the Bucks Free Press at the end of election night, Baker praised his ‘fantastic’ team of staff, revealed he has more action sports on his agenda, and added: “Thank God I’m free.”

But he also offered his opinion on why he failed to be re-elected as Wycombe’s MP for a fifth successive time and why Labour leader Keir Starmer managed to lead the party to a landslide majority over the Tories.

Asked what lost the election race for him in Wycombe and the Conservatives nationally, he said: “What I think is going on, which I have talked about for 14 years, is very difficult to explain briefly. Unfortunately, demography – as in the shape of the population – means that the welfare state is no longer affordable.

READ MORE: Labour’s Emma Reynolds beats Steve Baker in Wycombe

“And insofar as it has been affordable for 50 years, it has been through cheap credit and [quantitative easing] and that has created immense damage. It is why young people can’t afford homes.

“If you pump cheap mortgages out so that people can buy a home with restricted supply because of state land use planning, well then you are going to find that houses go out of young people’s reach. No wonder they are disillusioned.”

Baker also made this point earlier on in the night as he appeared live on Good Morning Britain and lambasted former chancellors George Osborne and Ed Balls in the ITV studio, claiming they were ‘as bad as each other’ for bringing about ‘economic injustice’ that blocked young people from owning their own home.

The former Tory MP claimed that it was ‘very dangerous’ for people to become disillusioned with system that is not working for them, telling the Free Press that this make people more likely to vote for radical parties.

He said: “So, it is hardly surprising that today Reform [UK] – as they intended – laid waste to the Conservative Party.”

Addressing the camera, Baker added: “I will continue to speak, as I believe the truth demands, but I am no longer your member of Parliament. It has been a joy. It has been a duty. It has been a privilege, and I am glad I did it but I can tell you all, I am not sorry to lose and I am glad to be finished and free.

“I very much hope that whoever the next Conservative candidate is for Wycombe wins. They should do. I hope everybody remembers that I said today, Labour will disappoint you.”

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