Blur’s Dave Rowntree has failed in his bid to become United Kingdom’s parliament member. Rowntree had stood for the centrist Labour party in Mid Sussex district. Although at large the Labour party won more than 410 parliamentary seats, thus rising to triumph ending 14 years of Conservative party rule. Alison Elizabeth Benett, who stood for another centrist party, The Liberal Democrats won Rowntree’s seat with 39% vote share. The elections were a total disaster for the Tories, who were unseated for the first time since 1974, . Rowntree got 17%, which means the Lib-dems and Tories were both ahead of him, which is still not much of a surprise considering the area is pretty Conservative.
In spite of losing his first few elections, Dave Rowntree had won his first seat at the Norwich County Council in 2017. He left office in 2021 during the pandemic. As he announced his run for the UK member of parliament, Rowntree stated, “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.”
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As he was campaigning for the elections, the drummer still played Blur’s Coachella gigs. Rowntree had also released his solo album Radio Songs last year. The band reunited recently. After a long hiatus after their eighth album The Magic Whip (2015), they released their ninth album this year called The Ballad Of Darren. They also have a Live at Wembley Stadium album due for release.
