Labour hails ‘political earthquake’ after double by-election win
Labour has hailed a “political earthquake” after overturning huge Conservative majorities in Tamworth and Mid Bedfordshire.
Sir Keir Starmer claimed his party was “redrawing the political map” after dealing a double by-election blow to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak – in results viewed as significant markers ahead of a general election next year.
The contests were triggered by the high-profile departures of the areas’ previous MPs.
Politics latest: Second by-election defeat on terrible night for Tories
In Tamworth, the Conservatives were defending a 19,600 majority, but a 23.9 percentage point swing to Labour saw that eradicated.
The historic result, declared shortly before 3am, was the second-highest-ever by-election swing to Labour.
Mid Bedfordshire saw the largest numeric Tory majority ever overturned by Labour at a by-election since 1945.
The Conservatives have held the rural seat since 1931, winning with a 24,664 majority in 2019.
Sir Keir Starmer said: “These are phenomenal results that show Labour is back in the service of working people and redrawing the political map.
“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.”
Former cabinet minister Nadine Dorries’ long drawn-out resignation in Mid Bedfordshire came in anger at being denied a peerage in Boris Johnson’s resignation honours list.
In Tamworth, Chris Pincher resigned after being found to have drunkenly groped two men at London’s exclusive Carlton Club last year – an incident which helped trigger Mr Johnson’s exit from No 10 because of his handling of the situation.
The Tories sought to portray the by-elections as mid-term blips, exacerbated by the difficulties surrounding the previous MPs.
Health minister Maria Caulfield was among the government figures claiming that despite the result, there was “no momentum” behind Labour and it did not mean the party was on track to form a majority at the next election.
“What I hear on the doorstep is they don’t feel that Keir Starmer is an alternative solution. We’re not seeing people voting for Labour in the way that they would need to form a government,” she told Sky News.
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How can you say Keir Starmer isn’t popular after the double by-election defeat?
However, elections expert Professor Sir John Curtice said the two results were “extremely bad news” for the Conservatives and suggested Mr Sunak was on course for general election defeat.
“This isn’t destiny, but it is a pointer and it is a pointer that, unless the Conservatives can fairly dramatically and fairly radically turn things around, then they are in truth staring defeat in the face in 12 months’ time.”
He warned the Tories risked seeing votes drift to Labour on the left and Reform UK on the right.
In Tamworth, Labour’s Sarah Edwards defeated Tory Andrew Cooper by a majority of 1,316 while in Mid Beds, Labour’s Alistair Strathern took the seat with a majority of 1,192 over his Tory rival Festus Akinbusoye.
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Tamworth by-election winner speaks to Sky News
Ms Edwards used her victory speech to call on Mr Sunak to “do the decent thing and call a general election”, while Mr Strathern said his win showed “nowhere is off limits for this Labour Party”.
Shadow cabinet member Peter Kyle, who ran the campaign in Mid Bedfordshire, said Labour had delivered a “political earthquake” to the Conservatives.
“It is one that is sending an unignorable message to Westminster and to Rishi Sunak that this country deserves better,” he said.
Labour was initially tempering expectations ahead of polls closing, describing the chances of winning either seat as a “moon shot”.
While Tamworth was seen as a two-horse race between Labour and the Tories, the Lib Dems were also seen as being in the running for Mid Bedfordshire – prompting concerns that the governing party might squeak through on a massively reduced majority because of a split in the anti-Conservative vote.
Despite coming third in a seat they had hoped to win, the Lib Dems were positive about the result, saying they doubled their vote share in Mid Bedfordshire and if that was mirrored in a general election, it would mean winning “dozens of seats off the Conservatives”.
Mr Sunak was out of the country as the by-election results came in, spending the night in Saudi Arabia on a tour of the Middle East in the aftermath of the Hamas attacks on Israel.
The results were announced a year to the day after Mr Sunak’s predecessor Liz Truss resigned as prime minister and leaves him with a headache as he ends his first 12 months in post.
Travellers have been warned to expect disruption to trains in Scotland today as the country continues to feel the effects of Storm Floris.
Services are likely to be affected as the storm – which brought winds of up to 124mph on Monday, bringing down trees and power lines, closing roads and cancelling flights – blows through.
The Scottish government held an emergency meeting last night to discuss the “significant disruption” caused and the efforts under way to recover, as rail operators look to clear routes covered by debris and utilities firms work to reconnect properties experiencing power outages.
Ross Moran, Network Rail Scotland’s route director, said teams had been “working tirelessly to keep services moving where possible and to clear fallen trees and debris from the tracks”.
By the evening, their focus had switched to “inspecting routes which have been closed by fallen trees, debris and other damage”, and work will continue into today.
“We’re grateful to passengers for their patience whilst we do this,” Mr Moran added.
(L-R) Frances Kusz, Jack Kusz, Paul Audoire and Robert Kusz waiting at Glasgow Central Station. Pic: PA
Most weather warnings have expired, but a yellow warning for wind is in place until 8am over the Shetland Islands and Orkney, and showers will remain throughout the rest of Scotland.
Rail, road, and ferry travel was disrupted by the storm on Monday, as 100 Edinburgh Fringe events were cancelled, according to organisers.
At one point, more than 30,000 people were without power.
A worker removes a fallen tree on the A82 road near Onich. Both pics: Reuters
At least 68 flights were cancelled, aviation analytics firm Cirium said, with Aberdeen and Belfast City the worst-affected airports.
Western coastal areas bore the brunt of the storm, but strong winds and heavy rain affected much of the rest of the country.
Police received “multiple reports” of camper vans blown over on the A87 between Broadford and Portree on Skye, while in Aberdeenshire the A96 was closed in both directions near Old Rayne because of fallen trees.
Fallen trees have also seen a number of other roads closed, including the A95 Rosarie road in both directions, while the A9 at Daviot was partially blocked by a fallen tree and the A1 Tyne Bridge was only open to cars and single-decker buses.
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Watch: Bumpy landing for plane in Storm Floris
Those driving in poor weather have been urged to avoid the worst-hit areas and slow down when on the roads while allowing time for delays.
Ferries have also seen widespread disruption, with ferry operator CalMac cancelling a number of sailings because of high winds.
Monday’s top wind speed was 124mph at Cairngorm, a mountain range in northern Scotland, according to Met Office data.
Sky News weather producer Christopher England said Tuesday would be a “much calmer”, though still windy – see your local forecast here.
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