Sunak dealt double blow with wins for Labour in two by-elections
By-elections were held in Wellingborough and Kingswood
Last updated 16th Feb 2024
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has been dealt a double blow overnight losing two by-election seats to the Labour party.
Voters hit the polls in Kingswood and Wellingborough yesterday, with both constituencies throwing out the Tories in favour of a Labour MP.
Gen Kitchen has been elected as the candidate in Wellingborough overturning a Conservative majority of 18,500.
That's one of the worst defeats on record for the Conservatives since the Second World War, with the swing of 28.5% representing the second largest ever from the Conservatives to Labour.
While in Kingswood Damien Egan overturned a majority of 11,000 to take his seat.
We caught up with the new Kingswood MP and Jacob Rees-Mogg from the Conservative's at the count overnight to get their reaction:
What's the reaction been like?
Labour Leader Sir Keir Starmer has been reacting to his party's victories overnight, saying: “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 in the knowledge that we will spend every day working to get Britain’s future back.”
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said the circumstances surrounding the Wellingborough and Kingswood by-elections were “particularly challenging”.
Conservative deputy chair James Daly insisted that, despite the “disappointing” results, there was “no love” for Sir Keir and denied there was any evidence that voters had switched directly from the Tories to Labour.
While Senior Conservative MP Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg is playing down the importance of the results in predicting what would happen in a general election.
“Does it tell you anything about the general election? Almost certainly not,” he said.
“By-elections are an opportunity for people not to turn out, to protest, and at ensuing general elections they don’t give a consistent guide to what happens.”
Sir Jacob said the Conservative Party needed to “learn from the result”.
He said: “I think we should learn from this result and look at what happened with the Reform Party vote. Conservative Party votes are most likely to come from people who stay at home or who voted Reform.
“How do we win them back to the Tory family? People who share many views and values with us."
He did say though he doesn't think the party needs to change direction: “I don’t think it would be right to do any sort of U-turns. I think we leave those to the Labour Party who are getting quite good at them at the moment.
“I think the challenge here is to focus on the policies that are Conservative and that Conservatives have always attached importance to and that appeal to those people who voted Reform at this by-election.
“I wouldn’t expect any deals, I think you have to win people over by argument and persuasion. Nobody has a divine right to anybody’s vote and you have to win it.
“They will vote Conservative if the Conservatives are saying things that appeal to them.”
Why are the results significant?
Defeats in Thursday’s by-elections in Kingswood and Wellingborough mean the Conservatives have lost more by-elections in a single parliament than any government since the 1960s.
The Tories have clocked up 10 such defeats since the 2019 general election – two more than the eight suffered by the 1992-97 Conservative government led by John Major.
It is more than any previous government since the 1966-70 Labour administration of Harold Wilson, which endured 15 losses.
Even accounting for the Conservatives’ one by-election gain this parliament – winning Hartlepool from Labour in 2021 – the double defeat on Thursday brings the party’s overall by-election scorecard to nine net losses, which is still worse than any government since 1966-70.
The results also saw Reform UK secure more than 10% of the vote for the first time, potentially adding to pressure on the Prime Minister from the right of his party.
Why were the by-elections taking place?
Former Tory MP for Wellingborough Peter Bone was handed a six-week suspension from the Commons after an inquiry found he had subjected a staff member to bullying and sexual misconduct.
More than 10% of voters in Wellingborough then voted to recall him, paving the way for a by-election.
In Kingswood, the previous MP Chris Skidmore resigned as a Conservative MP in protest at the Government’s plans to boost oil and gas drilling in the North Sea.