Britain’s ruling Conservative Party has held on to the seat of Southend West following a by-election triggered by the killing of Sir David Amess, the former local MP. Tory candidate Anna Firth won comfortably with 86 percent of the vote, as Labour and the Liberal Democrats, along with other mainstream opposition parties, chose not to contest the seat out of respect for the deceased MP. Amess, a 69-year-old father of five, had served Southend West since 1997. He was brutally attacked on Oct. 15 when meeting constituents in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, and later died of multiple stab wounds to the chest. Ali Harbi Ali, 25, a British national of Somali descent, was charged on Oct. 21 with the murder of Amess and “the preparation of terrorist acts.” In her victory speech, Firth, a qualified barrister, vowed to “work tirelessly to build on everything” her predecessor achieved. She paid tribute to Amess, …