Labour has won both the Kingswood and Wellingborough by-elections in another bad night for Rishi Sunak. Keir Starmer’s party were able to overturn Tory majorities of more than 11,000 and 18,000 respectively. It means the Conservatives have now lost ten by-elections in a single parliament, more than any government since the 1960s. Labour’s double triumph mean it has taken five seats off the Tories since 2019.

Kingswood declared first and delivered the expected victory for Labour. Damien Egan won with a majority of 2,500 in a place where the Tories won by more than 11,000 in 2019. He polled 11,176 votes compared to 8,675 votes for the Conservatives, on a swing of 16.4 per cent – some way above the 11.4-point swing the party needed to win. ‘Fourteen years of Conservative government have sucked the hope out of our country,’ Egan declared in his victory speech.

A poor Tory result in Kingswood was followed by an abysmal one in Wellingborough. Labour’s Gen Kitchen won 13,844 votes compared to just 7,408 for Helen Harrison and the Conservatives. CCHQ expectation management was that the Tories would lose but hoped the swing would be less bad than Tamworth and Selby. Yet Wellingborough dwarfed both of them, with a 28.5 per cent swing being the second biggest such from the Conservative to Labour since the Second World War.

It shows that many 2019-Tories are directly switching to Starmer and his party and will temper Labour fears after a difficult week for the party on the £28 billion and Rochdale rows. It is a reminder that, for all their internal difficulties, Labour are still on course to win a big majority at the next election. Sir Keir Starmer was certainly quick to credit Tory switchers, telling broadcasters that ‘The Tories have failed. Rishi’s recession proves that. That’s why we’ve seen so many former Conservative voters switching directly to this changed Labour party.

QOSHE - Labour triumph in by-election brace - James Heale
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Labour triumph in by-election brace

12 8
16.02.2024

Labour has won both the Kingswood and Wellingborough by-elections in another bad night for Rishi Sunak. Keir Starmer’s party were able to overturn Tory majorities of more than 11,000 and 18,000 respectively. It means the Conservatives have now lost ten by-elections in a single parliament, more than any government since the 1960s. Labour’s double triumph mean it has taken five seats off the Tories since 2019.

Kingswood declared first and delivered the expected victory........

© The Spectator


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