Labour wins Kingswood by-election
The result means the government has now clocked up more by-election defeats in a single parliament than any government since the 1960s.
Last updated 16th Feb 2024
Labour have gained another parliamentary seat from the Conservatives, winning the South Gloucestershire constituency of Kingswood overnight.
A by-election was announced at the start of the year after Tory Chris Skidmore resigned, saying he could not support the government's decision to offer new licences for oil and gas drilling in the North Sea.
The result means the government has now clocked up more by-election defeats in a single parliament than any government since the 1960s.
Labour's candidate Damien Egan used his victory speech to thank voters, saying: "Thank you for giving me your trust and for allowing me to serve the community I'm from.
"It's a trust that I promise to repay, to show that politics can be different and can make a difference."
He added: "Fourteen years of Conservative Government have sucked the hope out of our country.
"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."
In total 24,905 votes were counted, equating to a turnout of 37.11 per cent.
Defeated Conservative candidate Sam Bromiley left the count as soon as Mr Egan had finished speaking, declining to comment to reporters.
Previous Tory MP Chris Skidmore had won the seat for the Conservatives in each of the past four general elections, increasing his share of the vote on each occasion, from 40% in 2010 to 49% in 2015, 55% in 2017 and 56% in 2019.
For Labour to win, the party required an 11.4 percentage point swing in the votes, the equivalent of 12 out of every 100 voters who backed the Tories last time out, switching sides this time around.
Whilst not insignificant, that is a much smaller swing that Labour achieved in other recent by-elections, such as 23.9 percentage points at Tamworth, 23.7 points at Selby & Ainsty and 20.5 points at Mid Bedfordshire.
Following his party's victory, Sir Keir Starmer said: "This is a fantastic result in Kingswood that shows people are ready to put their trust in a Labour government.
"By winning in this Tory stronghold, we can confidently say that Labour is back in the service of working people and we will work tirelessly to deliver for them.
"To those who have put their trust in us, you can be safe in the knowledge that the Labour Party will deliver on your priorities. Labour will give Britain its future back."
The other by-elections lost by the Conservatives since 2019 are as follows:
- Chesham & Amersham and North Shropshire in 2021 (both won by the Liberal Democrats).
- Tiverton & Honiton and Wakefield in 2022 (won by the Liberal Democrats and Labour respectively.
- Selby & Aintsy, Somerton & Frome, Mid Bedfordshire and Tamworth in 2023 (three won by Labour and one by the Liberal Democrats).
The last government to lose this many by-elections during a single parliament was the 1992-97 Conservative administration led by John Major.
Also standing in Kingswood were the Liberal Democrats, Green Party, Reform UK and UKIP.
More to follow.