Labour’s Remarkable By-Election Victories
In two significant by-elections, Labour defeated the Conservatives, overturning by-election majorities that were previously overwhelming in Mid Bedfordshire and Tamworth.
The party faced a challenge from the Liberal Democrats and gained the seat for the first time in Mid Bedfordshire, surpassing a 24,664-vote Tory majority in the process.
In Tamworth, the Labour Party received 23.9% of the vote from the Conservatives.
Labour, according to leader Sir Keir Starmer, is “redrawing the political map.”
Sir Keir, speaking from his constituency in Bedfordshire, exclaimed to his supporters, “I truly believe this to be a game-changer.”
Challenges and Resignations Spark By-Elections
“There is a confidence now in this changed Labour party that we can go anywhere across the country, put up a fight and win seats that we’ve never won before.”
“However, I do not wish to become carried away,” he cautioned, adding that “each and every vote must be earned throughout this journey.”
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He subsequently travelled to Tamworth, where he declared to party members that they had “completely destroyed” it.
Greg Hands, chairman of the Conservative Party, described the results as “disappointing” but stated that “Conservative voters staying at home was the biggest problem.”
Clearly for us, I think it is right that a number of our voters are unhappy with the government,” he signalled. “We clearly have a job to do to win them back.”
Electoral Impact and Implications
In addition to the Conservatives’ decline in national polls, the outcomes have bolstered Labour in anticipation of the general election scheduled for the following year.
Since 1931, a Conservative has represented the predominantly rural constituency of Mid Bedfordshire. Labour has never held this position in its century-long history.
Tories lost their greatest by-election majority since 1945 with 24,664 votes. Alistair Strathern of the Labour Party won by a margin of 1,192 votes, securing a swing of 20.5%.
Festus Akinbusoye, Bedfordshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner, placed second in a three-way race with 12,680 votes. Emma Holland-Lindsay, the Lib Dem candidate, secured the third position with 9,420 votes.
Mr. Strathern, a former councillor who has worked for the Bank of England, stated in his victory speech: “Tonight, after decades of being disregarded, neglected, and underrepresented, the residents of Mid Bedfordshire decided it was time for a change. This marked a historic moment.
“Nowhere is off limits for this Labour Party, and tonight’s result proves it.”
Due to the previous legislators’ resignations, both by-elections sparked local resentment.
Voter “fury” over the circumstances surrounding the by-elections, according to Mr. Hands, contributed in part to the Conservatives’ defeats.
In Mid Bedfordshire, former Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries quit because Boris Johnson didn’t honour her.
She initially made a commitment to tender her resignation “with immediate effect” in June; however, she delayed her official resignation for over two months, citing her desire to investigate the reason behind her denial of a seat in the House of Lords.
Her absence from House of Commons debates since July last year earned her the nickname “absentee MP”.
Following the dismissal of former Conservative MP Chris Pincher, who lost his appeal against a proposed suspension from the House of Commons for intoxicatingly molesting two men, a by-election was held in Tamworth.
The case and its management initiated the ministerial resignation surge that overthrew the government of Boris Johnson a year ago.
Sarah Edwards, a Unite union organiser, defeated a Conservative majority of over 19,600 in order to gain the Staffordshire seat that the Conservatives had held since 2010.
The 23.9% swing to Labour was the party’s second-highest at a by-election since 1945 and ranked it within the third to top 20% for the year, following the by-elections in Rutherglen and Selby.
Ms. Edwards stated that electors had “clearly communicated to Rishi Sunak and the Conservatives that they have had enough of this failed government, which has destroyed our public services and crashed the economy,” in support of her call for a general election.
She further stated: “I know a lot of you have voted Labour for the first time, and I will not let you down.”
Labour hopes to win general elections in other leave-supporting districts after Tamworth’s 2016 Brexit victory.
Conservative candidate Andrew Cooper, who was shot seconds after losing, trailed Labour by 1,316 votes.
Labour supporters in Mid Bedfordshire feared a Lib Dem vote split would have given the Tories a narrow win.
The Role of Other Parties
Despite ultimately finishing in third place, the Liberal Democrats asserted that they had “significantly contributed to the Conservatives’ defeat.”
Deputy leader Daisy Cooper commented: “We nearly doubled our share of the vote, which would see the Lib Dems win dozens of seats off the Conservatives in a general election.”
Ms. Cooper stated that the next general election, which would be contested by all three parties, would feature “a very small number” of seats, and the Lib Dems would concentrate their efforts in areas where they were the “key challenger” in second place.
She added that the Liberal Democrats would field candidates for all seats and not form coalitions.
Reform UK Gains Support
In addition to a shift towards the left-leaning Labour and Liberal Democrats, the right-leaning Reform UK party gained support with 1,487 ballots in Mid Bedfordshire and 1,373 votes in Tamworth.
This marks four by-election defeats for the Tories in the past three months.
July saw Lib Dem victories in Somerset and Frome and Labour wins in Selby and Ainsty.
