It ‘would seem unwise for Tory MPs to draw any conclusion other than that their party is still in deep electoral trouble’
The Tories suffered a humiliating set of by-election results in Somerton and Frome and Selby and Ainsty today, with major swings away from the Conservatives, piling further pressure on Rishi Sunak.
In Somerton and Frome, the Liberal Democrats managed to overturn a 19,213 majority, with a 29% swing away from the Conservatives. Lib Dem candidate Sarah Dyke received 21,187 votes, with Tory hopeful Faye Purbrick receiving 10,179.
This gives the Liberal Democrats a majority of 11,008.
Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey said: “This stunning victory shows the Liberal Democrats are firmly back in the West Country.
“Sarah Dyke will be an incredible local champion for the people of Somerset who have been neglected for far too long. She will fight for stronger local health services, better access to GPs and a fair deal for rural communities during this cost of living crisis.
“The people of Somerton and Frome have spoken for the rest of the country who are fed up with Rishi Sunak’s out-of-touch Conservative government.”
In Selby and Ainsty, one of the safest Tory seats in the country, the Labour Party overturned a 20,137 majority, the biggest ever majority that the party has overturned at a by-election.
Labour’s Keir Mather – aged just 25 – won 16,456 votes, compared to the 12,295 cast for the Tory candidate Claire Holmes, giving the Labour Party a majority of 4,161.
“This is a historic result that shows that people are looking at Labour and seeing a changed party that is focused entirely on the priorities of working people with an ambitious, practical plan to deliver,” Sir Keir said.
The Tories did however manage to hold on to Boris Johnson’s old seat of Uxbridge and South Ruislip, albeit with a very narrow margin of victory.
Conservative Steve Tuckwell, a local councillor, has now been elected as the MP for the west London constituency – seeing off Labour’s Danny Beales.
The result saw a 6.7% swing away from the Tories to Labour.
The Conservatives won 13,965 votes, Labour 13,470 and the Liberal Democrats 526 – meaning the majority is 495.
Elections expert Sir John Curtice warned that it ‘would seem unwise for Tory MPs to draw any conclusion other than that their party is still in deep electoral trouble’ from the by election results.
Basit Mahmood is editor of Left Foot Forward
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