Blackpool South by-election: Sir Keir Starmer hails ‘seismic win’ as Labour takes seat from Conservatives
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Labour has won the Blackpool South by-election from the Conservatives in yet another blow for Rishi Sunak’s leadership.
The party’s candidate Chris Webb received 10,825 votes after Thursday’s contest – a 58.9% vote share – with the Tories trailing far behind with just 3,218.
Reform UK were hot on their heels, getting 3,101 votes, while the Liberal Democrats got 387 votes and the Green Party won 368.
More:
Starmer says time’s up for Sunak
Winners and losers
Profile: Who is Chris Webb?
Local election results as they come in
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer hailed the result, which saw a swing of 26.33% from the Tories, as “a direct message to the prime minister”.
He told Sky News: “There’s no denying the mood of the country now is for change. And I think it’s for the prime minister to allow the country to express that change now in a general election.”
The by-election took place alongside local elections across England and Wales.
As results began to roll in, Labour took control of a number of local authorities where voters overwhelmingly backed Brexit in the 2016 referendum.
However, there are hundreds of seats still to be declared, along with 10 mayoralties and 37 police and crime commissioners, in the coming hours and days.
‘People want change’
Speaking to Sky News after his win in Blackpool South was announced, Mr Webb said his priority in parliament would be the cost of living crisis, as it had “damaged so many people here in Blackpool South [and] people are struggling to make ends meet”.
The Commons’ newest MP said people were “fed up” and “want change”, adding: “Life-long Conservatives voted for me in this election and Labour because they want that change.
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‘This win is not a one-off’
“So many people are crying out for a Labour government, Rishi Sunak need to admit he’s failed and call a general election.”
Blackpool South becomes the seventh seat the Conservative Party has lost to the Labour Party in this parliament – although the Tories won Hartlepool off Labour 2021.
Read more – local election results:
Labour pull off shock wins in Tory strongholds
The by-election was called after the former Conservative MP Scott Benton – who won the seat in 2019 with a slimmer majority of 3,690 – was caught in a sting by The Times newspaper, suggesting he was willing to break lobbying rules for money.
As a result, he was suspended from the Commons for 35 days, meaning he was subject to a recall petition in his constituency.
But instead of facing removal from his seat, Mr Benton resigned from parliament, triggering a vote for a new MP.
Analysis: A significant step on Sir Keir’s journey to Number 10
In the No. 10 Bar of Blackpool’s iconic Imperial Hotel in this once-famous party conference town, there are photos of prime ministers going back decades and mirrors with their names inscribed in the glass.
And after an emphatic by-election victory in Blackpool South that his MPs hope will put him a step closer to 10 Downing Street in the general election, what price on Sir Keir Starmer joining them one day?
The walls of the bar are adorned with historic images of Conservatives from Winston Churchill to Margaret Thatcher, John Major and David Cameron, and Labour premiers from Harold Wilson and James Callaghan to Tony Blair.
Sir Keir shouldn’t build up his hopes just yet, however, even if he does become prime minister later this year. There’s no mention of Boris Johnson or Liz Truss, but then they never stayed at the Imperial as PM!
But the Labour leader will raise a glass to his candidate Chris Webb’s resounding victory here at the seaside.
In an added painful twist for the Tories, the candidate standing to replace him, David Jones, was revealed as the chairman of the Fylde Conservatives – the area represented by the latest scandal hit MP Mark Menzies.
Mr Menzies hit the headlines after claims he misused campaign funds – including by calling a member of the local association to say he was locked in a flat by “bad people” and needed £5,000 as a matter of “life and death”.
Mr Jones denied he knew anything about the incident – which was allegedly reported to the Conservative Party three months ago – until it was revealed in the media.
Responding to the result, Tory party chairman Richard Holden told Sky News: “In this one there were particular circumstances of not only the previous MP having been forced to stand down, but also during the campaign in the neighbouring seat a former Conservative MP had to have the whip withdrawn.”
He also said Reform had eaten into the Conservative vote.
He said: “There’s no doubt votes for Reform will help Labour in a general election scenario. There’s no doubt about that.”
But former Tory deputy chairman Lee Anderson, who defected to Reform earlier this year, disputed this.
He added: “Nobody has the right to be there because they’re in a particular party.”
Pressed over whether the Tories would be better ditching Mr Sunak, Mr Anderson said: “I think the public’s already made their mind up. I think Rishi Sunak could fly over the UK tonight in a helicopter, drop £1m down every chimney and they would still vote him out come October.”
Follow our live coverage of the election results throughout the weekend – find the full details here.
