Mace senior executive Mike Reader has been elected to parliament as a Labour MP.
Reader won his Northampton South constituency by 4,071 votes over the incumbent Conservative candidate, in a swing of 7.6 per cent.
In his victory speech, he said: “We are realistic about the scale of the challenges ahead of us.
“There are no magic wands that can solve our problems overnight but with laser focus on what Britain needs, we are prepared to tackle the issues facing our nation and deliver growth and renewal.”
Reader’s win was announced just before six o’clock, an hour after it was confirmed his party would form the next UK Government.
Labour has achieved a landslide victory, winning 410 seats and a majority of 170 with a handful of seats still to declare at the time of writing.
Reader has now stepped down from his role at Mace, where he worked for six and a half years, first as head of strategic pursuits and then as work winning director. He previously spent a decade at consultancy Pick Everard.
He toppled Conservative Andrew Lewer, who chaired the all-party parliamentary group for SME Housebuilders and was a member of the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Select Committee.
Reader will take part in delivering his party’s manifesto pledges, which include building 1.5 million homes, creating 650,000 jobs in green energy and introducing a national wealth fund to support green infrastructure
Starmer also told journalists he would take bold action on planning and housing “from day one” and review the £1.7bn Stonehenge tunnel, which is currently under judicial review.
Elsewhere, former construction company director Tan Dhesi held his Slough seat for Labour against an independent challenger. National Federation of Builders manager Sean Houlston came third for the Conservatives in Widnes and Halewood.
It was a mixed night for politicians with construction briefs. Construction minister Alan Mak held on by 92 votes, although the change of government means he will lose his post. His predecessor Nus Ghani was elected in the new seat of Sussex Weald.
Current housing minister and former construction minister Lee Rowley lost to Labour by 1,753 votes in North East Derbyshire. Housing secretary Michael Gove did not stand in the election, and his former Surrey Heath constituency elected a Labour MP.
Roads secretary Guy Opperman was ousted by Labour in Hexham, while former transport and energy secretary Grant Schapps lost his Welwyn Hatfield seat.
The Liberal Democrats, who pledged to review last year’s decision to cancel phase two of HS2, gained 63 seats, ending with 71 in total.
