In the wake of Stroud MP Dr Simon Opher's victory on Thursday, someone who presumably disagreed with the verdict took little time to show their disapproval – by smashing a window on the front of the MP's campaign base in the town.

Labour's offices in Landsdown Road were attacked at some point during the victory night, say police, while the final count for the constituency confirmed that Dr Opher, who works as a GP in Dursley and who has since indicated that he will continue his medical work on a part-time basis, had secured a thumping majority.

A spokesman for the Labour campaign told Punchline-Gloucester.com: "The police are investigating this incident, though we are not aware of the person's motivations".

In the final count, Dr Opher secured a majority of more than 11,000 votes, with 25,607 ballot papers against exiting candidate Siobhan Baillie, who secured 14,219 supporters. 

The Conservative vote saw a 20% drop, while Reform took 11.5% of the vote share (with 6,329 votes), nudging the Green candidate into fourth position. With 2,913 votes, the Lib Dems just managed to keep their deposit in the poll, with a vote share of 5.3%.

Back in March 2021, Stroud became the focus of national attention for another, quite different attack on a shop-front: Dr Gail Bradbrook, a co-founder of Extinction Rebellion, the group which began life as an activism idea in the town, protested against polluting industries by taking a hammer and chisel to the front of the town's Barclays Bank. 

Dr Bradbrook was subsequently fined  £575, plus £678 in court costs and a victim surcharge.