The eighth parliamentary by-election of the current Parliament took place on Thursday in Birmingham. Triggered by the death of Mr Harriet Harman (Jack Dromey), Labour eased to victory in a seat it has held since 1945. Although Paulette Hamilton increased Labour's share of the vote, the party did not extend its lead over the Conservatives - the Labour majority actually dropped from 3,601 in 2019 to 3,266. However, this could be largely attributed to the fact that just 27 per cent of voters bothered to show.
Such drastically low turnout will disappoint Labour, who threw the kitchen sink at this election. Starmer and various other senior frontbenchers all dropped in during the campaign and activists were bussed in from as far and wide as Devon and Hampshire to Yorkshire and the north east. Labour's candidate was hit by controversy 24 hours before polling day after GB News uncovered a speech from 2015 in which she questioned the virtues of democracy over violence. We'll post the video over the weekend.
Only the Labour and Conservative candidates saved their deposits in this two-horse race. Former Labour MP and long-standing far left activist Dave Nellist finished third as a candidate for the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition, beating Reform UK into fourth place. The Lib Dems finished an embarrassing sixth.
Birmingham Erdington
Paulette Hamilton (Lab) 9,413 (55.5%) +5.2%
Robert Alden (Con) 6,147 (36.3%) -3.8%
Dave Nellist (TUSC) 360 (2.1%) New
Jack Brookes (RefUK) 293 (1.7%) -2.4%
Siobhan Harper-Nunes (Grn) 236 (1.4%) -0.4%
Lee Dargue (LDem) 173 (1.0%) -2.7%
Michael Lutwyche (Ind) 109 (0.6%) New
Mel Mbondiah (CPA) 79 (0.5%) New
Thomas O'Rourke (Ind) 76 (0.4%) New
The Good Knight Sir NosDa (Loony) 49 (0.3%) New
Clifton Holmes (Ind) 14 (0.1%) New
David Bishop (Elvis) 8 (0.0%) New
Lab HOLD
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| Westminster's newest MP Paulette Hamilton (left), pictured on the campaign trail with MP Charlotte Nichols (Warrington North) |
There were also eight council by-elections on Thursday, three of which were holds for the Lib Dems who also gained a seat from the Conservatives. The Tories held the other two seats they were defending and also gained a seat via a free-for-all in East Lindsey, Lincolnshire.
Labour gained a seat in Sunderland thanks to the continuing decline in UKIP. The outgoing councillor had won his seat for the party, but resigned from the party last year. UKIP managed to find a candidate to defend the seat, but he finished a distant fourth.
UKIP did not contest Neroche in Somerset this time, while there were no independents for Halton Holegate.
Halton Holegate, East Lindsey District Council
Con: 306 (66.2%) +41.5%
Lab: 156 (33.8%) +25.7
Con GAIN from Ind
Rayleigh North, Essex County Council
LDem: 1,658 (57.4%) +12.3%
Con: 929 (32.2%) -11.8%
Ind: 164 (5.7%) New
Lab: 137 (4.7%) -6.1%
LDem HOLD
Hythe West & Langdown, New Forest District Council
LDem: 559 (41.3%) -26.6%
Con: 497 (36.7%) +4.6%
Lab: 253 (18.7%) New
Ind: 44 (3.3%) New
LDem HOLD
Downhall & Rawreth, Rochford District Council
LDem: 791 (71.5%) +1.4%
Con: 265 (23.9%) +2.1%
Lab: 51 (4.6%) -3.6%
LDem HOLD
Brasted, Chevening & Sundridge, Sevenoaks District Council
Con: 820 (58.7%) +4.5%
LDem: 524 (37.5%) +1.2%
Lab: 52 (3.7%) -5.7%
Con HOLD
Southchurch, Southend-on-Sea Borough Council
Con: 1,025 (64.3%) +1.1%
Ind: 294 (18.4%) New
Lab: 144 (9.0%) -7.3%
Grn: 87 (5.5%) -2.2%
LDem: 45 (2.8%) +0.1%
Con HOLD
Neroche, South Somerset District Council
LDem: 390 (52.8%) +26.8%
Con: 315 (42.6%) -18.8%
Grn: 19 (2.6%) New
Lab: 15 (2.0%) New
LDem GAIN from Con
Redhill, Sunderland City Council
Lab: 709 (50.2%) +12.6%
LDem: 386 (27.4%) New
Con: 196 (13.9%) -0.3%
UKIP: 85 (6.0%) -34.9%
Grn: 35 (2.5%) -4.8%
Lab GAIN from UKIP
Abbreviations
Lab = Labour
Con = Conservative
TUSC = Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition
RefUK = Reform UK
Grn = Green
LDem = Liberal Democrat
CPA = Christian Peoples Alliance
Loony = Monster Raving Loony
Elvis = Church of the Militant Elvis
UKIP = UK Independence Party
Ind = Independents
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