London (Parliament Politic Magazine) – Labour scored stunning victories in Kingswood and Wellingborough, overturning massive Tory majorities, and intensifying pressure on Rishi Sunak’s leadership
Rishi Sunak has faced a humiliating double by-election loss as Keir Starmer’s Labour overturned a huge Tory majority in stunning victories. The suffering set of results for the under-fire Rishi Sunak came as voters turned their backs on the Conservatives in both Kingswood and Wellingborough. The upset defeat will add further pressure on Mr. Sunak’s leadership as national polls suggest the Tories are on course for a historic wipeout at the general election.
In a remarkable victory, Labour toppled an 18,000 majority in Wellingborough on a 28.5% swing – the second largest from the Tories at a by-election since the Second World War. The stands are well beyond what Mr. Starmer requires across the country at the general election later this year to begin the first Labour government in 14 years.
At about 4 am charity worker Gen. Kitchen was elected the first Labour MP to represent Wellingborough in almost 20 years with 13,834 votes – a 45.8% share. In her victory address, Ms. Kitchen, who said she cut short her honeymoon for the campaign, stated: “The people of Wellingborough have spoken for Britain. This is a stunning victory for the Labour Party and must send a message from Northamptonshire to Downing Street.”
The Reform UK party established by Nigel Farage finished third with 13% of the vote, its best performance at a by-election, and candidate Ben Habib called it “remarkable”. He asked why people voted for him: “People are fed up with how this country is being governed.”
In Kingswood, Labour’s new MP Damien Egan overturned a Tory majority of 11,220. The party succeeded with a swing of 16.4% – way above the 11.4% the party required to win the seat. After succeeding in the seat held by the Tories since 2010, Mr. Egan stated in his victory speech at around 2 am that 14 years of Tory rule had “sucked the hope out of the country”.
Just hours after official figures revealed the UK economy had plunged into a recession, he stated: “There’s a feeling that no matter how hard you work, you just can’t move forward, and with Rishi’s recession we are left once again paying more and getting less.” MP added: “When the Prime Minister finally finds the courage to give the people a say, we’re going to need each of you again to come out and vote and make sure your voices are heard.”
Losing Conservative candidate Sam Bromiley, who got 8,675 votes, left the count as soon as Mr. Egan had finished speaking, and refused to comment to reporters. The bruising results also indicate the Government has now faced the most by-election defeats of any government since the 1960s, surpassing the eight losses suffered by John Major in the run-up to Tony Blair’s 1997 landslide victory.
Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer celebrated the victories, stating: “These are fantastic results in Kingswood and Wellingborough that show people want change and are ready to put their faith in a changed Labour Party to deliver it. By winning in these Tory strongholds, we can confidently say that Labour is back in the service of working people and we will work tirelessly to deliver for them.
“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. Those who gave us their trust in Kingswood and Wellingborough, and those considering doing so, can be safe knowing that we will spend every day working to get Britain’s future back.”