Tory By-election candidate hid in dance studio to avoid reporters following humiliating defeat

Boris Johnson and the Conservatives had a dismal night after a historic defeat in Tiverton and Honiton - and the constituency's Tory candidate, Helen Hurford wasn't exactly in a chatty mood after the loss.

Liberal Democrat candidate and former army major Richard Foord managed to overturn a huge Tory majority (24,000) to win the seat - which had been Tory since the Devon constituency was formed 25 years - with 22,537 votes while the Tories trailed in second place with 16,393 in a massive 30 per cent swing.

The vote has made history as the largest majority ever overturned (in terms of votes) at a by-election with the previous record dating back to Liverpool Wavertree in 1935 and is also the first time in 30 years the Tories lost two by-elections on the same day.

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It is thought that the result reflects how Johnson has gone down in the public's estimation after the Partygate scandal and the current cost of living crisis.

As a result of the two losses (Wakefield to Labour on the same night), Conservative party co-chairman Oliver Dowden to resign.

So it's fair to say it was an eventful night for British politics, but the action didn't stop there...

In a bizarre turn of events, it was reported that Tiverton and Honiton's Tory candidate Helen Hurford locked herself in the dance studio at Crediton sports centre where she had just lost the by-election and refused to speak to the media.

People found this particular detail pretty humourous as the memes were out in full force on Twitter.

For many, the scenario gave off Alan Partridge energy.

Meanwhile, others felt the description was a scene straight out of comedy satire The Thick of It.

Though there were also a lot of people who were reminded of another Tory... the PM to be exact, where he appeared to hide in a fridge in order to avoid being questioned by Good Morning Britain's Susanna Reid and Piers Morgan back in 2019.

At the time, Conservative sources reportedly said aides were merely taking a moment to prep the PM for a separate, pre-agreed interview, and not hiding in a fridge - though it didn't stop the moment from becoming a meme.

So a few pointed out the similarities between the two moments, for obvious reasons.

Perhaps, Hurford just simply wanted to dance out her election blues in peace as Twitter imagined what exactly that would look like.

Actor Rob Delaney responded with a dance video of his own, though we're not quite sure if his interpretive dance is what he thinks happened inside the walls of Crediton sports centre or if the vocal Labour supporter was celebrating the Tories losing - probably a bit of both.

A motivational post-election loss pop, lock and drop?

Might as well work on dance spins, when the political spin fails.

Dance like nobody's watching: Election edition.

One may ask: What does an election loss dance look like?

While a Tory loss was predicted, no one could have expected a Sophie Ellis-Bextor pun would find its way into the by-election discourse, but here we are.

Sue Perkins summed up this nugget of information perfectly.

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