Wellingborough and Kingswood by-election: Double blow for Sunak as Labour wins both seats

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 Tories suffered a devastating double by-election defeat overnight with Labour taking huge majorities in both the Gloucestershire seat of Kingswood and the Northamptonshire seat of Wellingborough.

In Wellingborough, Labour’s Gen Kitchen won 45.92 per cent of the vote while her Conservative opponent Helen Harrison won just 24.57 per cent.

It marks the second-largest swing to Labour since the Second World War.

Similar results were seen in Kingswood were the Labour candidate Damien Egan won 44.94 per cent of the vote compared to the 34.88 per cent the Conservative’s Sam Bromiley received.

Upon his election, Mr Egan said: “Our country is at a crossroads. Under the Conservatives we can choose more managed decline, more chaos, more division or we can choose a changed Labour Party.”

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer also weighed in on the results and said: “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.”

Sir Keir will not be doing a media round on Friday morning as he attends the funeral of the late Rochdale MP Sir Tony Lloyd.

But speaking about tonight’s results, he said: “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.”

Gen Kitchen, the new MP for Wellingborough, said she was “ecstatic” at the result, adding that the double by-election win for Labour shows that people are “fed up” and want change.

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She said: “I hope Damien (Egan, new Labour MP for Kingswood) is as ecstatic as I am, and I’m sure the Labour leadership will be as well.

“This shows that people are fed up, they want change, they want competency, they want pragmatism and they want politicians to under-promise and over-deliver, which is what I am hoping to do.

“It shows how much hard work we put in and the real positive message we were putting out. There is a real appetite for a fresh start and change.”

After the results of the Wellingborough contest were confirmed Sir Keir said the “fantastic” wins show “people want change and are ready to put their faith in a changed Labour Party to deliver it”.

He said: “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.”

Labour’s overturning of the Conservative majority in Kingswood could be read as a sign of how things will go at the general election this year by many, but not for North East Somerset MP Jacob Rees-Mogg.

Speaking after the result, he said: “Does it tell you anything about the general election? Almost certainly not.

“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.”

He added: “From the point of view of Kingswood, I think the Conservatives can be more pleased than they might have expected. I certainly thought this result would be worse.

“Bear in mind a lot of the postal votes would have been back before Labour’s problem with antisemitism was in the public.”

Gen Kitchen (Labour) 13,844 (45.92 per cent, +19.46 per cent)

Helen Harrison (Conservative) 7,408 (24.57 per cent, -37.60 per cent)

Ben Habib (Reform UK) 3,919 (13.00 per cent)

Ana Savage Gunn (Liberal Democrat) 1,422 (4.72 per cent, -3.14 per cent)

Marion Turner-Hawes (ND) 1,115 (3.70 per cent)

Will Morris (Green) 1,020 (3.38 per cent, -0.12 per cent)

Kev Watts (Ind) 533 (1.77 per cent)

Alex Merola (Britain First) 477 (1.58 per cent)

Nick The Flying Brick (Monster Raving Loony Party) 217 (0.72 per cent)

Andre Pyne-Bailey (Independent) 172 (0.57 per cent)

Ankit Love Jay Mala (ND) 18 (0.06 per cent)

Lab maj 6,436 (21.35 per cent)

28.53 per cent swing C to Lab

Electorate 79,372; Turnout 30,145 (37.98 per cent, -26.30 per cent)

Labour has won the Wellingborough by-election, with candidate Gen Kitchen overturning the Conservatives’ 19,000 majority.

The 28-year-old beat the Tories’ Helen Harrison, the partner of disgraced former MP Peter Bone, whose resignation sparked the contest.

Ms Kitchen will be the first Labour MP for Wellingborough since Mr Bone turned the seat blue in 2005. She will also enter the House of Commons as one of its youngest MPs.

Ms Kitchen won with 13,844 votes, almost twice as many as Ms Harrison, who secured 7,408 votes.

Two by-elections were voted on by constituents in the Gloucestershire seat of Kingswood and the Northamptonshire seat of Wellingborough on Thursday in a key day in UK politics.

Kingswood’s vote was triggered by Chris Skidmore’s resignation as an MP in protest at Government legislation to boost North Sea oil and gas drilling.

He won the Gloucestershire constituency for the Tories at the past four general elections, before which Labour held it at every general election since 1992.

The by-election in Wellingborough comes after former Tory MP Peter Bone received a six-week suspension from the Commons when an inquiry found he had subjected a staff member to bullying and sexual misconduct.

He won the Northamptonshire constituency at every general election from 2005 to 2019, with Labour coming second in four of the five contests and Ukip in 2015. His majority in 2019 was 36%.