Though he is best known as the dummer for hit 90s British rock band Blur, Dave Rowntree was selected as Labour’s candidate for Mid Sussex, running against the Conservative’s who held that seat at the time. Last Thursday’s general election saw him come in third behind the Liberal Democrat and Conservative candidates.
Last week’s election was a historic one ending 14 years of Conservative party rule with a Labour victory with the party securing over 410 Parliamentary seats however unluckily for some Labour candidates in certain constituencies failed to gain seats like Blur’s Dave Rowntree. The Mid Sussex seat was awarded to the Liberal Democrat candidate Alison Elizabeth Bennett’s who managed to snatch up 39% of the vote share. The Mid Sussex district is a solid conservative area so despite the surprising Lib-Dem win, Rowntree only gained 17% of the vote coming in third behind the Conservatives. This is the first time the Tory party have been unseated since the constituency’s establishment in 1974.
The Mid Sussex constituency includes the town’s Burgess Hill, Haywards Heath and the Mid Sussex villages. Rowntree has been operating in the political sphere for some time now winning his first local election in 2017 which granted him a seat on Norwich County Council however Labour selected him to run for a more senior role this year as MP for Mid Sussex.
According to an article by Pitchfork, Rowntree announced his entering into the race in a statement where he stated that ‘Residents have their best chance in a generation to make their vote count and return a Labour MP to parliament. The Tories have run out of ideas, and the Lib Dems have run out of steam. I’m running for parliament to provide the energy and vision the area so desperately needs’.
After the polls were counted on Friday morning, Rowntree took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to congratulate his fellow party members who obtained parliamentary seats and also to thank the residents who voted for him.
Thank you so much to my campaign team and the 9397 people who voted for me in Mid Sussex!
It was a privilege to be a small part of such a momentous day, and I’m immenseley proud of my @UKLabour friends who are now Members of Parliament.
Onwards and upwards!#Win24 pic.twitter.com/5EV3HaxLAF— Dave Rowntree (@DaveRowntree) July 6, 2024
Rowntree took part in Blur’s reunion as the group rebounded after an 8 year hiatus to play a round of shows across the world which they wrapped up last December in North America. the reformation of the hit 90s brit-pop band saw the creation of their 9th studio album The Ballad of Darren in 2023 as well as their anticipated Live at Wembley album which hits the shelves on the 26th of July as well as their concert film which you can catch in cinemas on September 6th. You can read about the upcoming concert film and live album as well as the band’s upcoming documentary film Blur: To the End here.
