The British Conservative Party narrowly holds onto Boris Johnson's old seat after losing two out of three by-elections.
BRITISH PRIME MINISTER Rishi Sunak has suffered a double by-election defeat in what were safe seats for his Conservative Party, with the British Labour Party and the Liberal Democrats both overturning majorities of about 20,000.
Tory Steve Tuckwell held on with a majority of just 495, down from the 7,210 Johnson secured in 2019. The swing from Conservative to Labour of 23.7 percentage points is the second largest swing managed by Labour at a by-election since 1945.A similar swing across the country would result in it winning more seats than in Tony Blair’s 1997 landslide, Labour claimed.
For the Lib Dems, a 29.0 percentage point swing in Somerton and Frome saw a 19,213 Tory majority turned into a 11,008-vote cushion for new MP Sarah Dyke.Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey said the Somerton and Frome result showed his party was once again winning votes in its former West Country heartland.“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,” he said.
The shadow justice minister told the PA news agency: “I think those responsible for that policy will need to reflect on what the voters have said and whether there’s an opportunity to change.”
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