BY-ELECTIONS 23.06.22

The Conservatives were defending two parliamentary seats on Thursday and have sensationally lost both of them.  The Tiverton and Honiton by-election came about due to the resignation of Neil Parish, who was found to have viewed pornography on his mobile phone in the Commons chamber.  The Tories were defending a whopping 24,239 majority in the Devon constituency, but a huge swing to the Lib Dems put them top of the poll with a 6,144 majority.  The Lib Dems finished third here in 2019, but Labour boosted their chances this time around by stepping back from campaigning.  As a consequence, Labour finished third themselves and lost their deposit.

Tiverton and Honiton had been held by the Conservatives since its creation in 1997, the previous Tiverton constituency had been blue since 1924.  This stunning defeat deals another crushing blow to Boris Johnson's leadership.

Tiverton & Honiton by-election

Richard Foord (LDem) 22,537 (53.1%) +38.6%

Helen Hurford  (Con) 16,393 (38.4%) -21.8%

Liz Pole (Lab) 1,562 (3.7%) -15.8%

Gill Westcott (Grn) 1,064 (2.5%) -1.3%

Andy Foan (RefUK) 481 (1.1%) New

Ben Walker (UKIP) 241 (0.6%) -1.0

Jordan Donoghue-Morgan (Herit) 167 (0.4%) New

Frankie Rufolo (ForBr) 146 (0.3%) New

The Wakefield by-election went to Labour, as expected.  Before 2019 the seat had been red since 1932, but Imran Khan took the seat in the last general election for the Tories.  He stood down following his conviction for sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy.  His 3,358 majority was overturned by Labour's Simon Lightwood who topped the poll with a 4,925 majority - the party's largest majority in Wakefield since 2005.

It was a crowded ballot paper in Wakefield, but only three of the 15 candidates saved their deposits.

Wakefield by-election

Simon Lightwood (Lab) 13,166 (48.4%) +8.6%

Nadeem Ahmed (Con) 8,241 (30.3%) -17.0%

Akef Akbar (Ind) 2,090 (7.7%) New

David Herdson (Yorks) 1,182 (4.3%) +2.4%

Ashley Routh (Grn) 587 (2.2%) New

Chris Walsh (RefUK) 513 (1.9%) -4.2%

Jamie Needle (LDem) 508 (1.9%) -2.0%

Ashlea Simon (BritF) 311 (1.1%) New

Mick Dodgson (Freedom) 187 (0.7%) New

Sir Archibald Stanton Earl Eaton (Loony) 171 (0.6%) New

Paul Bickerdike (Christ) 144 (0.5%) New

Therese Hirst (EngDem) 135 (0.5% New

Jordan Gaskell (UKIP) 124 (0.5%) New

Christopher Jones (North) 84 (0.3%) New

Jayda Fransen (Ind) 23 (0.1%) New

There were also five council by-elections on Thursday with eight seats up for grabs.  The Conservatives were defending two seats and lost them both, mirroring their parliamentary woes with defeats to Labour and the Lib Dems.  In Waverley the Lib Dems were helped to victory by the absence of a Labour candidate this time - the 'progressive alliance' in action again.

Labour held two seats in south Wales, while the Lib Dems gained a seat from an independent in Shropshire.  The Lib Dems also picked up three seats in Kingston-upon-Thames, an election postponed from May after one of the candidates passed away.

Bush Fair, Harlow District Council

Lab: 594 (47.1%) +2.6%

Con: 482 (38.2%) -6.5%

Grn: 109 (8.6%) +1.0%

HAP: 76 (6.0%) New

Lab GAIN from Con

New Malden Village, Kingston London Borough Council

(three seats)

LDem: 1,217

LDem: 1,184

LDem: 1,182 

Grn: 867 

Ind: 724

Ind: 703 

Con: 467

Con: 372

Con: 327

Lab: 436

Lab: 429

Lab: 374

LDem GAIN x 3 (new ward)

Port Talbot, Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council

(two seats)

Lab: 914

Lab: 898

Plaid: 367

Ind: 246 

Plaid: 244

Ind: 171

Grn: 46

Grn: 25

Lab HOLD x 2

Highley, Shropshire Council

LDem: 630 (54.5%) New

Con: 279 (24.1%) -9.5%

Lab: 239 (20.7%) +7.3%

Grn: 9 (0.8%) New

LDem GAIN from Ind

Hindhead, Waverley Borough Council

LDem: 526 (54.6%) +7.9%

Con: 440 (45.4%) -1.2%

LDem GAIN from Con

Abbreviations

LDem = Liberal Democrat

Con = Conservative

Lab = Labour

Grn = Green

RefUK = Reform UK

UKIP = UK Independence Party

Herit = Heritage

ForBrit = For Britain

Yorks = Yorkshire

BritF = Britain First

Freedom = Freedom Alliance

Loony = Monster Raving Loony

Christ = Christian Peoples Alliance

EngDem = English Democrats

North = Northern Independence

HAP = Harlow Alliance Party

Plaid = Plaid Cymru

Ind = Independent

THE WAKEFIELD TOSSER

Keir Starmer ran into some public dissent over the weekend in a Wakefield walkabout ahead of Thursday's parliamentary by-election.  Embarrassingly for the Labour leader, a film crew from the Daily Telegraph were on hand to record the incident.  As Starmer walks alongside the party's candidate, a man can be heard shouting "Don't vote for him, he's a tosser".  It's not clear if the jibe was directed at Starmer or his candidate.

Click below for the video.

Voters go to the polls in two big by-elections this Thursday, both Conservative defences and both brought about because of disgraced Tory MPs.

In Wakefield Labour are firm favourites to retake the seat after the incumbent was convicted of sexual assault on a 15-year-old boy.  The Tories had taken the seat from Labour in 2019, making Imran Khan the first Conservative MP for Wakefield since 1931.  The Tories have chosen another Muslim candidate to defend the seat, local councillor Nadeem Ahmed.  Meanwhile, Labour have been accused of parachuting an outsider into the constituency.  Simon Lightwood is from South Shields - 107 miles north of Wakefield.  It's a packed ballot paper for the by-election, with 15 candidates in total.

Wakefield general election 2019 result

Imran Khan (Con) 21,283 (47.3%) +2.3%

Mary Creagh (Lab) 17,925 (39.8%) –9.9%

Peter Wiltshire (Brexit) 2,725 (6.1%) New

Jamie Needle (LDem) 1,772 (3.9%) +1.9%

Ryan Kett (Yorks) 868 (1.9%) -0.6%

Stephen Whyte (Ind) 454 (1.0%) New

In Tiverton and Honiton it's the Lib Dems who are favourites to beat the Tories, despite coming third in 2019.  Labour have taken a step back from campaigning in order to give the Lib Dems the best possible chance of taking the seat.  If the Conservatives lose Tiverton it will be a huge blow, more so than Wakefield, because they are defending a much larger majority of 24,239.

The seat was vacated after the incumbent, Neil Parish, was found to have viewed pornography on his phone while in the Commons chamber.  The Tories have chosen a local candidate by the name of Helen Hurford, a former headteacher who now runs a beauty salon.  The Lib Dems are throwing the kitchen sink at this by-election and have selected ex-squaddie Richard Foord, who is from the village of Uffculme to the east of Tiverton.

Tiverton & Honiton general election 2019 result

Neil Parish (Con) 35,893 (60.2%) –1.2%

Liz Pole (Lab) 11,654 (19.5%) –7.6%

John Timperley (LDem) 8,807 (14.8%) +6.8%

Colin Reed (Grn) 2,291 (3.8%) +0.3%

Margaret Dennis (UKIP) 968 (1.6%) New

We'll publish the results on this website as soon as they are available.

WAKEFIELD HOPEFUL'S GAFFE

Last week Starmer's Labour commemorated the anniversary of Tony Blair's 1997 general election victory - as if it was something to be proud of.  Clearly the intention was to show that Labour can win general elections, something that has eluded them for 17 years.  Their inability to make any significant gains in the local elections suggests they won't change that any time soon.  However, they can still achieve small victories, such as the forthcoming Wakefield parliamentary by-election.  There is no date yet, but Labour are firm favourites to win back a seat vacated by Tory MP Imran Khan after his conviction for sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy.  Although he announced his resignation in April, he did not actually resign until the beginning of this month and in doing so ensured he would receive his April salary.

With Labour's chances so promising, there was much speculation that a prominent figure could try and launch a comeback.  Ed Balls was a name mooted by Labour sources, with backing from Gordon Brown, but he declined.  It was also suggested that the hideous Mary Creagh could return to Wakefield following her 2019 defeat to Khan.  She too declined.

Another name in the frame is trade unionist Kate Dearden.  She has launched a website to further her cause and she talks herself up like any candidate would.  Kate says she is a "lifelong trade unionist" with a "strong record" who has "dedicated her life to the Labour movement".  Kate is 28 by the way.

Kate Dearden pictured with Birmingham Yardley MP Jess Phillips

In a video released on her social media accounts Kate recounts the experience of her father whose employers had to close down the print shop where he worked.  She was just 15 when this happened and it spurred her on to 'dedicate her life' etc etc.  The problem with this is that when Kate was 15 there was no nasty Tory government in office.  It was not the 1980s or even the 1990s.  No, when Kate was 15 there had been a Labour government in office for more than a decade.  Oops.

Click below for the video.

If Kate is selected as Labour's candidate in Wakefield she appears to be following in the New Labour tradition of never having done a proper day's work in her life.  According to her LinkedIn account she graduated from university and went straight into Labour activism and later as a trade unionist pen pusher - sorry, 'researcher'.

It will also be interesting to see how Kate would quantify her stated position as a 'feminist' in the modern Labour Party, considering that females have been cancelled by the current leader.  Tricky.  Good luck Kate!

Wakefield general election 2019 result

Imran Khan (Con) 21,283 (47.3%) +2.3%

Mary Creagh (Lab) 17,925 (39.8%) –9.9%

Peter Wiltshire (Brexit) 2,725 (6.1%) New

Jamie Needle (LDem) 1,772 (3.9%) +1.9%

Ryan Kett (Yorks) 868 (1.9%) -0.6%

Stephen Whyte (Ind) 454 (1.0%) New