The Labour Party have won two by-elections in Tamworth and Mid Bedfordshire that Sir Kier Starmer has labelled as “history in the making.” The two seats previously belonged to the Conservatives with Labour overturning huge majorities in both areas to come out victorious.
In Tamworth, the Conservatives were defending a 19,600 majority from 2019 in a seat they had held since 2010. However, last night, Labour secured a 23.9% swing in the vote which meant Sarah Edwards took the seat with a majority of 1,316.
Labour’s victory
In her victory speech, Edwards said that the people of Tamworth had “sent a clear message to Rishi Sunak and the Conservatives they have had enough of his failed government” and called on the prime minister to “do the decent thing and call a general election.”
Her Conservative opponent, Andrew Cooper, was ushered out of a back door after the results were announced meaning he didn’t stay for Edwards’ speech, something that is customary in British politics. Edwards described his actions as “disappointing.”
In Mid Bedfordshire, the results were even more staggering. Alistair Strathern and the Labour Party managed to overturn a 24,664 Conservative majority to take the seat. It is the largest numeric Tory majority that Labour have managed to overturn at a by-election in 78 years.
Mid-Bedfordshire was previously considered one of the safest Conservative seats with Rishi Sunak’s party holding the seat since 1931. After his victory, Strathern told voters that they had “made history” and they had decided it was time for change “after decades of being taken for granted, feeling left behind, and being under-represented.”
Strathern added that the victory proved that “nowhere is off limits for this Labour Party” a sentiment echoed by party leader, Sir Keir Starmer.
A night to forget for the Conservative
Losing two seats that were previously held with large majorities is certainly a blow to Rishi Sunak and his party. The situation wasn’t ideal from the off given the reasons for the by-elections in the first place but the Conservatives still would have expected to retain both seats.
Nadine Dorries’ resignation in Mid Bedfordshire came after she was denied a peerage in Boris Johnson’s resignation list while Chris Pincher stepped down in Tamworth after he was caught groping two men in a London nightclub.
The reaction from within the party in the aftermath to the results has been mixed. Party chairman, Greg Hands, acknowledged that the results were “disappointing” but blamed them on poor turnouts rather than voters switching allegiance. He said:
“The biggest problem was previous Conservative voters staying at home. It was principally a problem we need to find better ways to energise our Conservative voters to come out and support the government.”
Hands’ point is a valid one – only 36% of constituents turned out to vote in Tamworth – significantly less than the 64.3% that turned out for the 2019 general election. Meanwhile, the turnout was 44% in Mid Bedfordshire compared to 73.7% in 2019.
Former Conservative Chancellor, George Osborne, was less optimistic. He said that “losing both the Tamworth and Mid Bedfordshire by-elections is a political earthquake that could mean armageddon for the Tories.”
Starmer is refusing to get ahead of himself
Despite being understandably delighted with the results, Sir Keir Starmer is refusing to start celebrating just yet. After the results came in, he told reporters:
“These are extraordinary results. To have won either of these by-elections would have been extraordinary, to win both of them is historic.
“I think what we’ve shown as a country where we’re able to make our positive case, people are now wanting to turn their back on 13 years of decline and vote for that positive change Labour Party.”
“I know how big a task it is to get the Labour Party from where we landed in the last general election to a Labour majority at the next election. That’s a mountain to climb, we are climbing that mountain. We can see the summit with these victories – but we’ve still got to get there.”
Final thought
These historic by-election results signal a significant shift in the British political landscape, with voters in Tamworth and Mid Bedfordshire decisively rejecting the Conservatives. The victories will be celebrated by Labour but they mustn’t take their eyes off the ball.
If the Conservatives think that burying their heads in the sand and blaming low voter turnout is the answer then they may well end up in “political armageddon” at the next general election as George Osborne predicted.
