The left-wing Labour Party trounced the governing Tories in two by-elections for seats once considered to be safely in the Conservative category, confirming the massive challenges facing Rishi Sunak’s party in the next general election.
British voters went to the polls in two constituencies on Thursday, and the result was clear, with both seats in the Parliament falling to candidates for the Labour Party.
In the Mid Bedfordshire constituency, the seat for which was vacated after the resignation of former culture secretary Nadine Dorries following her resignation over the Tory party’s treatment of former PM Boris Johnson, Labour overturned the largest majority in a by-election since 1945, with the Conservatives dropping by 28.7 per cent. New Labour MP Alistair Strathern increased the party’s vote share by over 12 per cent.
Meanwhile, in Tamworth, which was vacated by the resignation of former Conservative whip Chris Pincher after he reportedly groped two younger men in a London club, Labour increased its vote share by 22.1 per cent and the Conservatives declined by 25.7 per cent, leading to the election of Sarah Edwards.
Hailing the victory, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said per The Telegraph that they were “redrawing the political map,” adding: “Winning in these Tory strongholds shows that people overwhelmingly want change and they’re ready to put their faith in our changed Labour Party to deliver it.”
While Labour branded the two victories as a “political earthquake”, the Conservatives attempted to downplay their significance, with government minister Andrew Bowie saying that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak still is in a position to win the general election next year, saying that “there is no groundswell of support for the Labour Party”.
However, former Brexit negotiator Lord David Frost said: “The Tamworth [and] Mid-Beds by-elections are extremely bad for my party, and I don’t think it helps to suggest otherwise, as some party figures have done this morning.
“The current national polls are dreadful for us but these results are even *worse*. The very worst current polls show us holding 100-150 seats at an election. But Tamworth is our 55th safest seat.
“Yes, things are different at by-elections and there were probably special factors. But these results show that the national polls are broadly correct and that a strategy of denial is unlikely to work.
“If your voters don’t want to come out and vote for you then you don’t win elections. It’s as simple as that.”
Under Sunak, who was installed last year against the wishes of the Conservative party membership following the coup against former PM Liz Truss, the party has lost considerable ground in public support amid failures to tackle the illegal boat migrant crisis and to reduce legal mass migration.
Despite supposedly representing small-c conservative values, the party has also overseen the imposition of the highest tax burden on the public since the Second World War during a cost of living crisis.
According to recent polling YouGov, the Conservatives currently stand to only gain 24 per cent of the vote in the next general election, compared to the Labour Party at 47 per cent.