The surprise late entry to the "Reform bridgehead" in the Commons was working for a big financial firm in the City of London when he put his name forward as a paper candidate for the seat of South Basildon and East Thurrock.
Then on Friday, just after 5am, long after most candidates had gone to bed for a long sleep, Mr McMurdock was declared as the 650th and final MP elected in the 2024 general election.
The result was so close that counting was suspended at 6am for the process to start again at 2pm, after Labour demanded a third recount. But in the end, McMurdock was declared to have won by 98 votes; down from the original 127 in the first count.
Denne historien er fra July 07, 2024-utgaven av The Independent.
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Denne historien er fra July 07, 2024-utgaven av The Independent.
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Klitschko takes on Russians and Zelensky in new film
Documentary examines ex-champion Vitali's role as wartime mayor of Kyiv and asks if he aims to be president of Ukraine
Arteta must now deliver the prizes that matter the most
After spending £650m on new signings, the Gunners have one FA Cup so can their manager beat Pep over a season?
Premier League braced for outcome of fair play probe
Premier League chief executive Richard Masters says they \"don't want to normalise asterisks on the league table\" as the competition faces up to a potentially critical season over its regulatory future. With the Manchester City case expected to finally have an outcome by April, that potentially seismic decision hangs over the entirety of the new season, which is due to start on Friday. Masters kept his stance of refusing to discuss any element of it, other than to say \"of course we contemplate at its conclusion what might happen and we think about that a lot\".
Low-stakes, sanitised fluff finishing with a Gallic shrug
The titular character of 'Emily in Paris' still comes across like she's been engineered in a lab, writes Katie Rosseinsky, as the chocolate box Netflix hit returns for a fourth season
Mpox outbreak declared global health emergency
The World Health Organisation declared yesterday that the increasing spread of mpox in Africa is a global health emergency, warning the virus might ultimately spill across international borders.
Scandal-hit Japan PM quits
Fumio Kishida has announced he will step down as Japan's prime minister after three years in office marred by political scandals, saying his exit is \"what is best for the public\".
Here come the girls... and a challenge for Donald Trump
Hailey Guerra had never bothered to attend a presidential campaign rally before now - but Kamala Harris's visit to the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale seemed different.
Fears of new fires as Athens counts cost of climate crisis
Firefighters battled yesterday to extinguish the final pockets of a wildfire near Athens that killed a woman and forced thousands of people to flee their homes. The blaze burned 40 square miles of land northeast of the Greek capital this week, and came within a few miles of reaching a tourist-packed city centre.
Baby twins killed in Gaza as father registered their birth
The mother of the twins described them as a 'miracle' in a Facebook post four days earlier, reports Maroosha Muzaffar
London mayor builds just 71 affordable homes in quarter
Tories accuse Sadiq Khan of failing to meet scale of challenge
