Worst Tory by-election defeat since World War II: Labor captures Tamworth

Labor MP Stephanie Peacock and newly elected Labor MP Sarah Edwards after she was announced as Member of Parliament for Tamworth following Thursday's by-election

The Tories suffered their worst by-election defeat by Labor in modern history after losing control of Tamworth.

Sarah Edwards won the Staffordshire seat with a majority of 1,316 votes in one of the party's biggest by-election swings in history as her Conservative rival refused to count the votes after the results were announced.

This means that Sir Keir Starmer became the first Labor leader to win Tamworth since Tony Blair, overturning the Conservative party's majority, which had increased in every election since 2010.

Evergling a massive majority of 42.6 per cent. This is Labour's biggest victory over the Conservatives in a by-election since the Second World War.

Ms Edwards presented herself as a «fresh start» against the ruling party, which is faltering in the polls and struggling locally after its former MP Chris Pincher was found to have groped two men at a private club. He denies the claims.

In her victory speech, delivered as Tory candidate Andrew Cooper hurried out the back door, she demanded the prime minister call a general election to end years of “national decline.” .

She said: “The people of Tamworth voted for Labour's positive vision and a fresh start.

“They sent Rishi Sunak and the Conservatives a clear signal that they have had enough of this failed government that has crashed the economy and destroyed our government services. Tamworth residents have made it clear it is time for change.

“People feel worse off after 13 years of Tory rule and don't feel the government has a plan to tackle the serious problems facing ours.

Sarah Edwards has been announced as MP for Tamworth. Photo: PA

Concluding her speech with a direct challenge to Mr Sunak, she said: “My message to the Prime Minister is get into the government car, go to Buckingham Palace, do the decent thing and call a general election.”

< p>According to Martin Baxter, founder of the Electoral Calculus, Labor could expect a majority of around 200 seats if it repeats its performance in Tamworth at the next general election.

Mr Cooper, a Tamworth councilor, tried achieve this. campaign on the strength of his local credentials.

However, he sparked controversy when a social media post from 2020 was discovered in which he suggested that unemployed parents struggling to feed their children should they pay for phone contracts, “fuck off.”

Mr Cooper, who received 10,403 votes to Ms Edwards' 11,719, spent only a few minutes on stage during the final count, arriving late as the calling officer apologized for the «short break».

< p>He exchanged a brief handshake with the Labor candidate before rushing out the back door as the results were read out, pursued by the press. Ms Edwards later said his early departure was «disappointing».

Lord Hayward, the Conservative pollster, suggested Tamworth had a group of Labor supporters whose support had been underestimated because they did not perform well in the recent election as they would have been for Sir Keir Starmer.

He said that the Conservatives benefited in 2017 and 2019 from the fall in Labour's vote caused by the unpopularity of former leader Jeremy Corbyn.

«There is a very significant group of Labor voters, larger than the actual majority would have thought,» he told The Telegraph .

The anti-Labour vote appears to have been split with the pro-reform vote for Nigel Farage's successor. Brexit Party. Combined, the Conservative and Reform votes would have been enough to secure a narrow election victory.

None of the other third parties, including the Liberal Democrats, managed to maintain their contribution as their share of parliament. votes were crowded out by the Tories and Labor.

Turnout was lower than in recent by-elections, although Ms Edwards denied her victory was due more to Tory indifference than a wave of Labor support . Earlier in the evening, the head of the local Tory campaign suggested it showed Sir Keir had failed to galvanize the electorate.

Pointing to the party's 23.9 per cent swing, Ms Edwards told The Telegraph: «The Conservatives voted for Labor because they could no longer tolerate the dire situation they found themselves in, both locally and nationally.»