MP's death cuts Tory majority to 5

MP's death cuts

Tory majority to 5

Sir David Lightbown, the former Tory whip and MP for Staffordshire South- East, died yesterday of a heart attack which struck while he was watching the Varsity rugby match at Twickenham. He was 63.

His death cuts the government's majority to five, but his seat is eminently winnable by Labour, which would take the majority down to three, assuming Labour holds Hemsworth, the Yorkshire seat currently vacant after the death last month of Derek Enright.

Sir David had a majority of 7,192 over Labour at the last election, vulnerable to a 6.3 per cent swing. The Liberal Democrats trailed a poor third, with just under 10 per cent of the vote in 1992.