Category Archives: Byelections

Polls open in Chester byelection in first test for Rishi Sunak – UK politics live

Posted on by

Latest updates: Labour party expects to retain seat but Tories will be pleased to win above 20% of vote, says election expert

YouGov have published the results of its latest poll on voting intention, showing that support for the Conservatives has dropped by a further three percentage points, and Labour have dropped by one percentage point, though the party retains a strong lead. Right-wing populist party Reform have gained four percentage points, though support remains low, at 9%. The other parties have stayed stable.

A poll in Scotland suggests that more people support Scottish independence than want to remain part of the United Kingdom.

The research found that 49% of Scottish respondents said they would vote Yes and 45% said they would vote No if there were to be a referendum tomorrow on whether Scotland should be an independent country, with the remainder saying they do not know.

Redfield & Wilton Strategies carried out the poll on November 26-27, days after the UK Supreme Court ruled another independence referendum cannot be held without Westminster’s consent.

Support for independence was higher than a comparable poll on 18 September last year, when 44% of respondents said they would vote Yes while 47% said they would vote No.

The latest poll, of 1,000 Scottish voters, also found 46% said they would support a referendum on Scottish independence being held in the next year, while 43% would oppose one, 9% said they would neither support nor oppose the prospect, and 2% said they did not know.

SNP depute leader Keith Brown said:

This poll shows growing support for what the people of Scotland expressed in the 2021 election, they want a choice to become an independent nation.

The chaos at Westminster in recent months has tanked the UK economy, accelerated inflation and crippled household budgets with soaring mortgages, all from successive Tory governments that Scotland didn’t elect.

Continue reading...

Double defeat points to unwinding of Conservative Brexit coalition

Posted on by

Defeat for the Tories in two key byelections shows that tactical voting could put safe seats in play if replicated at a general election

Wakefield and Tiverton and Honiton are at opposite ends of the country geographically, socially and politically. But they have two features in common: both voted Leave heavily in 2016, and both turned against the Conservatives last week. Defeats on the same day in a northern “red wall” seat and a southern rural stronghold suggest that, six years on from the EU referendum, the Conservative majority Boris Johnson stitched together with a promise to “get Brexit done” is beginning to unravel.

For both opposition parties, the byelections have a distinctly 1990s flavour, with the return of a pattern from the Major years that has been largely absent in the past decade of Conservative government – voters in both seats seemed determined to eject Tory incumbents and flocked to the local opposition candidate seen as best placed to do so. Tactical coordination among Labour and Liberal Democrats voters is back, and if replicated at a general election, it could put a lot of seemingly safe Conservative seats in play.

Continue reading...

Two ways to bring down a PM: Boris Johnson’s rebels see opportunities

Posted on by

Johnson was defiant in Rwanda after his byelection disasters, but at home there was renewed Tory anger

While Boris Johnson was in Rwanda, having an early-morning swim in the luxurious pool of the conference hotel, his Tory critics were already planning another go at ousting him.

The backbench plotters had previously been despondent about the prospects of kicking Johnson out after he narrowly won a confidence vote of his MPs and the cabinet rallied round him.

Continue reading...

Boris Johnson admits byelection defeats ‘not brilliant’ as ex-Tory leader calls for resignation – as it happened

Posted on by

This live blog is now closed, you can find our latest UK political coverage here

This is from James Johnson, a Tory pollster (who worked for Theresa May in No 10) whose firm JL Partners carried out polling in Wakefield, on who ought to be taking the blame for the byelection defeats.

PM Media has just snapped this.

Boris Johnson has said he will “listen” to voters but will “keep going” after the Tories suffered a double by-election defeat.

Continue reading...

Boris Johnson insists he will keep going despite byelection defeats

Posted on by

Prime minister promises to listen to voters and says he will take responsibility for results

Boris Johnson has promised to keep going in the face of pressure over his leadership following a double byelection defeat and the resignation of a cabinet minister.

The prime minister said on Friday that losing the former Tory stronghold of Tiverton and Honiton to the Liberal Democrats as well as surrendering Wakefield to Labour was tough, but insisted he would listen to voters.

Continue reading...

Tories lose two key byelections on same night in Wakefield and Tiverton and Honiton

Posted on by

Labour takes Wakefield and Lib Dems snatch Tiverton and Honiton, piling pressure on Boris Johnson

Boris Johnson has faced a double hammer blow to his authority after the Conservatives lost the Wakefield and Tiverton and Honiton byelections on the same night, prompting the party co-chair Oliver Dowden to resign.

Labour took Wakefield, while the Liberal Democrats overturned a 24,000-plus majority to snatch Tiverton and Honiton.

Continue reading...

Boris Johnson’s future in the frame as polls close in byelections

Posted on by

Loss of Wakefield, and Tiverton and Honiton could push backbench Tories towards restarting efforts to oust PM

Voting has closed for two crucial byelections, in Wakefield and in Tiverton and Honiton, the results of which could play a pivotal role in Boris Johnson’s political future.

Defeat in both of what were previously Tory-held seats could reignite a challenge to the prime minister from disgruntled Conservative MPs, particularly if the Liberal Democrats overturn a 24,000-plus majority in Tiverton and Honiton.

Continue reading...

Boris Johnson visits Rwanda as voting gets under way in crucial byelections – UK politics live

Posted on by

Latest updates: PM in Kigali amid heavy criticism of deportation policy to east African country; ballots open in Wakefield and Tiverton and Honiton

Boris Johnson visited the Rwandan president this morning while voting got under way in Wakefield and Tiverton and Honiton where the Conservatives face two vital byelections.

The prime minister is in Kigali where he visited Paul Kagame at his office following heavy criticism about his deportation policy to the east African country.

They then went next door to the president’s meeting room where they sat in white armchairs in front of a Union flag and a Rwandan flag.

Mr Johnson said: “How are you? Very good to see you. What an exciting time to be here in Rwanda. Congratulations on taking over as chair of office. This will be absolutely superb.”

The byelections were called after the respective MPs resigned in disgrace. Imran Ahmad Khan stepped down in Wakefield having been convicted of sexually assaulting a teenage boy, while Neil Parish quit in Tiverton and Honiton after watching pornography in the Commons.

The West Yorkshire seat had been safely Labour before Khan took it for the Conservatives in 2019, and Labour is the clear favourite to win on Thursday. The Devon constituency, in contrast, is seen as neck-and-neck between the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats, despite the seat in its various forms having been strongly Tory for more than a century.

Continue reading...

‘Boris Johnson thinks he’s honest’: Devon candidate declines to say if PM trustworthy

Posted on by

Helen Hurford, Tory candidate in Tiverton and Honiton, blames media for stopping public from moving on from Partygate

The Conservative candidate in Tiverton and Honiton has blamed the media for preventing the public from “moving on” from Partygate and twice declined to say that Boris Johnson was honest.

In an interview with the Guardian, Helen Hurford acknowledged the party faced a very tight battle to retain the previously ultra-safe seat and criticised what she called the media’s “persistent regurgitating of Partygate”. Asked if she believed Boris Johnson was fundamentally honest, Hurford twice refused to say.

Continue reading...

New Commons partygate inquiry poised to derail Tory conference

Posted on by

Privileges committee looks set to report in October, when Boris Johnson will be aiming to win back members’ trust

A House of Commons inquiry over whether Boris Johnson misled MPs over Partygate is on course to coincide with a Tory party conference already seen as crucial in resetting his leadership.

The prime minister appeared to have survived any immediate threat to his leadership in the wake of last week’s Sue Gray report on Downing Street parties, which revealed damning details of rule-breaking, drunkenness and abuse of No 10 staff during Covid lockdowns.

Continue reading...

Imran Ahmad Khan completes MP resignation process with full April pay

Posted on by

Wakefield MP found guilty of sexual assault on 11 April says delay caused by Easter and HR issues

Imran Ahmad Khan has said he has now resigned as Wakefield’s MP and will no longer be a parliamentarian from this Saturday, two and a half weeks after being found guilty of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy.

Ahmad Khan told the Guardian he had submitted his resignation on Monday and that it was effective from 30 April. That means he will be paid his salary in full for April.

Continue reading...

‘All bets are off now’: a torrid week when Johnson’s balloon was burst

Posted on by

Last week’s byelection result laid bare the growing anger felt towards the PM – both from outside and within his own party

Shortly after Owen Paterson resigned as the Tory MP for North Shropshire in early November, Helen Morgan, who had been trounced when she stood as Liberal Democrat candidate at the last general election, rang her party’s HQ in London with a message that took senior officials by surprise.

“She told us that we really had a chance in the byelection, that we had to throw everything at it. Initially there was a lot of scepticism,” said a party official. “Nobody really believed it.”

Continue reading...

‘He’s in real trouble now’: Tory MPs are viewing Boris Johnson as the problem

Posted on by

Analysis: It’s not Downing Street, it’s him, says a minister, amid fears the PM’s strengths have become weaknesses

Asked on Friday whether he took personal responsibility for the disastrous North Shropshire byelection result, Boris Johnson suggested the problem was that everyone else was talking about the wrong issues. “My job as prime minister is to get the focus on to the things that matter for all of us,” he said.

Yet after weeks of self-inflicted crises and the drip, drip of stories about lockdown-busting parties at the heart of Downing Street, many of his MPs believe it is Johnson himself who is the real problem – and some are warning he is now on borrowed time.

Continue reading...

Johnson faces trust crisis as sleaze shatters faith in MPs

Posted on by

Poll reveals huge public cynicism, with just 5% of respondents believing politicians work for public good

Trust in politicians to act in the national interest rather than for themselves has fallen dramatically since Boris Johnson became prime minister, according to figures contained in a disturbing new study into the state of British democracy.

The polling data from YouGov for the Institute of Public Policy Research (IPPR) shows a particularly sharp fall in trust in the few weeks since the Owen Paterson scandal triggered a rash of Tory sleaze scandals.

Continue reading...

Old Bexley and Sidcup byelection: Tories retain true-blue seat

Posted on by

Louie French becomes MP for suburban London seat, but Tories’ majority of nearly 19,000 cut to 4,478

The Conservatives have held the safe seat of Old Bexley and Sidcup in the first in a series of closely watched parliamentary byelections.

Louie French was elected as the new MP, replacing the well-liked former cabinet minister James Brokenshire, who died in October from lung cancer.

Continue reading...

‘Boris is a waste of space’: sleaze row to test Tory loyalties in byelection

Posted on by

People in Old Bexley and Sidcup say their faith has been undermined but they are still likely to vote Tory

Residents in Old Bexley and Sidcup are vacillating over whether to return the Conservatives to power in an upcoming byelection that will test their loyalty following the high-profile corruption allegations that have beset the party.

Gillian Moore, 64, a poll clerk and retired bank receptionist, said the sleaze row and the government’s mishandling of the pandemic response had undermined her faith in the Conservatives.

Continue reading...

Labour candidate Kim Leadbeater wins narrow victory in Batley and Spen byelection

Posted on by

Sister of murdered MP Jo Cox holds West Yorkshire seat for party, easing pressure on leader Keir Starmer

Labour has narrowly won the Batley and Spen byelection, holding on to the West Yorkshire seat after a hotly contested campaign.

Labour won 13,296 votes with the Tories recording 12,973, according to official results. Kim Leadbeater defeated Ryan Stephenson, the Conservative candidate, by 323 votes. George Galloway, representing the Workers Party of Britain, came third with 8,264 votes.

Continue reading...

Lib Dems win Chesham and Amersham byelection in stunning upset

Posted on by

Sarah Green takes formerly safe Buckinghamshire seat despite senior Tories’ canvassing

The Liberal Democrats have pulled off an extraordinary victory in the Buckinghamshire constituency of Chesham and Amersham, taking the formerly safe seat from the Tories in a byelection.

In a shock result, Lib Dem Sarah Green secured 21,517 votes, leaving the Conservative Peter Fleet trailing with 13,489, and giving the Lib Dems a majority of 8,028.

Continue reading...

Lib Dems win Brecon and Radnorshire byelection, cutting Johnson Commons majority to one

Posted on by

Jane Dodds beats Tory incumbent Chris Davies, and says her first act will be to tell prime minister to rule out no-deal Brexit

Boris Johnson has suffered a major blow after the Tories were beaten by the Liberal Democrats in the Brecon and Radnorshire byelection.

The victory by Liberal Democrat candidate Jane Dodds means the new prime minister’s working majority in the House of Commons has been cut to just one and will be seized on as a sign voters are concerned by Borish Johnson’s pledge to leave the EU without a deal if necessary.

Continue reading...

Jeremy Corbyn shrugs off referendum calls after byelection win

Posted on by

Labour leader says ‘not yet’ to calls for people’s vote, urging Tories to call general election

Jeremy Corbyn has indicated he will not bow to party pressure and move immediately towards demanding a second referendum, after Labour narrowly beat the fledgling Brexit party in the Peterborough byelection.

Corbyn – arriving in the Cambridgeshire city after the party’s candidate Lisa Forbes won by 683 votes, leaving the Tories trailing in third position – called for the “squabbling contenders” within the Conservative party to give the public a general election.

Continue reading...