Labour wins key by-election in Kingswood, as Wellingborough count continues – BBC News

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Jacob Rees-Mogg is left doing the explaining after Conservative candidate Sam Bromiley made a swift exit following the announcement that Labour had overturned a Tory majority in Kingswood.

Rees-Mogg has downplayed its significance but admits his party “needs some fresh ideas”.

One notable aspect of the Kingswood result is the performance of Reform UK, which came in third place with 10.4% of the vote.

It’s the party’s best by-election result so far this Parliament and since it rebranded from its previous name, the Brexit Party, in 2021.

The figure is broadly similar to its current ratings in national polls – and well above what it achieved in recent by-elections in Tamworth (5%) and Mid Bedfordshire (4%).

At the Wellingborough count, there is a feeling that we could be getting close to a result.

Many of the tables have stopped counting, all the candidates are now here and gathered in small groups with their supporters.

The high Sheriff of Northamptonshire has arrived in his regalia and is chatting to the candidates.

More now from the new MP in Kingswood, Damien Egan, who says that winning the seat “feels amazing” but that there’s “so much to do”.

He tells BBC News: “The things that our residents are telling us are the things that Keir and the Labour Party have been talking about – the NHS, cost of living crisis, community policing.

“Kingswood is a beautiful part of Bristol, but it is one that feels neglected after 14 years of Conservative government.”

Asked whether he’s confident Labour could win the next general election, he says: “You can never take anything for granted.”

Conservative MP and former cabinet minister Jacob Rees-Mogg, who represents the nearby seat of North East Somerset, says the result in Kingswood is “not as bad as I’d expected”.

He points out that if you add together the Reform UK and Conservative vote it is more than Labour’s – and that the Labour Party previously held the seat from 1997 to 2010.

Asked if Reform cost the Tories the by-election, he tells the BBC: “I wouldn’t like to put it that way because a party doesn’t have a divine right to voters – we have to win them to vote for us.”

He adds: “But there is a lot of common ground between the Conservative Party and the Reform Party and therefore we need to make sure we appeal to those voters.”

Rees-Mogg insists support for Rishi Sunak’s leadership is “solid” and “by-elections don’t change that”.

He says the party can be reassured to some extent by the low turnout as a lot of Tory voters appeared to stay at home.

“I think a general election focuses people’s minds in a different way to a by-election,” he adds.

In his victory speech a short time ago, Labour’s winning candidate in Kingswood, Damien Egan, thanked voters for “giving me your trust and for allowing me to serve the community that I’m from”.

“In Kingswood, as across the country, 14 years of Conservative government have sucked the hope out of our country,” he says.

“There’s a feeling that no matter how hard you work, you just can’t move forward and that with Rishi’s recession we’re left again paying more and getting less.”

He says the country is “at a crossroads” and urges people to “choose a changed Labour Party” rather than “more managed decline, more chaos, more division” under the Tories.

There was a 16.4% swing from the Conservatives to Labour in Kingswood – some way above the 11.4% the party needed to win the seat.

Hannah Miller

Political correspondent

Labour has overturned a Conservative majority of more than 11,000 to win the Kingswood by-election with a majority of more than 2,000.

“Fourteen years of Conservative government have sucked the hope out of our country,” the new MP Damien Egan says in his winning speech.

Conservatives came second, with Reform beating the Green Party to the spot for third place.

Labour leader Keir Starmer says the result in Kingswood is “fantastic” for his party and “shows people are ready to put their trust in a Labour government”.

“By winning in this Tory stronghold, we can confidently say that Labour is back in the service of working people and we will work tirelessly to deliver for them,” he says in a statement.

“To those who have put their trust in us, you can be safe in the knowledge that the Labour Party will deliver on your priorities. Labour will give Britain its future back.”

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Here is the breakdown of the Kingswood by-election in full:

• Labour: 11,176
• Conservatives: 8,675
• Reform UK: 2,578

• Green Party: 1,459
• Liberal Democrats: 861
• UKIP: 129

Labour has won the Kingswood by-election, overturning a majority of more than 11,000.

We’ll bring you the full result in a moment.

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Hannah Miller

Political correspondent

Conservative MP Jacob Rees-Mogg has arrived at the Kingswood count and was seen talking with the Reform UK candidate.

When the boundary changes come into effect for the next general election, a sizeable portion of the constituency will sit in Rees-Mogg’s constituency instead.

The declaration in Kingswood is expected in about 20 minutes, when we’ll find out the winner – and also how well Reform have done here.

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Reform UK candidate Ben Habib has arrived and said he is feeling “top of the pops”.

He told me: ”I think our campaign went very well. When I first turned up in Wellingborough, people didn’t know who I was. Today I got lots of waves, thumbs up and v signs.

“To be known is a crucial step forward for an insurgent party and we have got our profile up.

“We are definitely growing and our share of the vote will be significantly higher than the previous by election.

“The Tories need to look at our trajectory and panic.”

The Green Party ran its candidate Lorraine Francis in Kingswood.

Despite huge electoral success locally in neighbouring Bristol, the party is hoping merely to better its 2019 tally of 1,200 votes, which amounted to 2.4% of the vote.

Some professional journalists on X are saying both Labour sources and Conservative sources are in agreement Labour has won in Wellingborough.

This is the more difficult of the two by-elections tonight for Labour to win. It requires an 18% swing – the kind of swing not far short of the over 20% swings that Labour have secured in by-elections back in the autumn.

It’s the question on all of our minds – but it’s not an exact science.

Normally, we find out in the early hours of the morning. We should have the results from both the Wellingborough and Kingswood by-elections around 04:00 GMT.

But don’t hold it against us if we’re a bit out…We’ll be here through the night, and you can also follow along on the stream at the top of the page – just click the Play button above.

A sudden burst of applause and loud cheering rang out in the counting hall here at the Wellingborough count a moment ago.

Journalists rushed to our balcony looking over the sports hall.

Had someone won!? Do we have a result?

No.

It’s the arrival of “Nick the Flying Brick”, the candidate from The Official Monster Raving Loony Party, to loud support from his fans.

At the Kettering Leisure Village, it has taken several hours to get all the boxes in and to verify the vote.

We have now been told that the turnout is 38.1%, slightly higher than many party officials were expecting.

The last turnout here in the general election was 64.3% – but it’s common for turnout to be lower in by-elections.

Recent by-elections include Tamworth in October 2023 at 35.95% and Mid Bedfordshire in October 2023 at 44%.

The count has now moved onto its next stage.