Alistair Strathern resigned as a councillor at Waltham Forest in east London to campaign in Mid Bedfordshire
By Rachael McMenemy
BBC News, Bedfordshire
Labour have made history by winning a by-election in the Mid Bedfordshire parliamentary seat which has been held by the Tories since 1931.
It was triggered by the resignation of former Conservative cabinet minister and MP Nadine Dorries.
Labour’s Alistair Strathern won the seat with a 1,192 majority, overturning Ms Dorries’s 2019 majority of 24,664.
The win is the largest Conservative majority overturned by Labour at a by-election since 1945.
Turnout was 44%, down from the last general election turnout of 74%. Labour has also won Thursday’s other by-election in Tamworth in Staffordshire.
In his victory speech, Mr Strathern said: “Tonight residents across Mid Bedfordshire have made history. After decades of being taken for granted, feeling left behind, being under-represented, they made a decision it was time for a change.”
There was clear anger in the constituency during the campaign about the “absentee MP”. Ms Dorries had not spoken in the Commons since early July last year, but found time to present her TalkTV show.
Speaking to the BBC he said: “I’m just so, so overwhelmed and grateful for the faith that people have placed in me today.”
He said the closely fought election campaign never “felt comfortable enough to call” but from day one it was clear there was an “opportunity to do something really historic”.
“People right across our towns and villages were turning their backs on the government and an MP that had not shown sufficient respect over the last few years and we were incredibly heartened by the strong positive reaction we were getting right up until today,” he added.
Image source, PA Media
Labour made history winning the Mid Bedfordshire seat, which had been held by the Conservatives since 1931, when they took it from the Liberals
The Conservative candidate, Bedfordshire’s police and crime commissioner Festus Akinbusoye, polled 12,680 votes, with the Liberal Democrats’ Emma Holland-Lindsay in third place with 9,420.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said: “These are phenomenal results that show Labour is back in the service of working people and redrawing the political map.
“Winning in these Tory strongholds shows that people overwhelmingly want change and they’re ready to put their faith in our changed Labour Party to deliver it.”
Independent candidate Gareth Mackey polled 1,845 votes, while Reform UK’s Dave Holland was fifth with 1,487.
The rest of the 13 candidates all polled less than 1,000 votes, with the Greens’ Cade Sibley getting 732.
By Andrew Sinclair, BBC East political editor
This vote confirms what has been evident ever since Nadine Dorries announced her intention to resign – people in this safe Tory seat were angry.From the dozens of interviews which we did and from the reports coming back from the canvassers, it was clear that they felt taken for granted.There was real anger their MP hadn’t made time for her constituency (something she has always denied).
There was also anger in a place with a large proportion of home owners that their mortgages had gone up, about low level crime, that the party which had promised to protect the green belt had failed to stop development in the countryside, with some of it built with very little supporting infrastructure, about the difficulty of finding an NHS dentist or getting a GP appointment.I’m told that the Conservatives’ failure to “stop the boats” was another issue which kept coming up.Labour will be delighted at winning so deep into the so-called blue wall, but it’s worth noting how well the Liberal Democrat’s did – a sign that this was probably first and foremost a protest vote against the Conservatives rather than a surge of Tory voters switching their allegiance to Labour.The Tories are already saying that come the general election, which will be in January 2025 at the latest, they should be able to take this seat back.
However, it’s worth noting that close to Mid Bedfordshire are a number of swing seats – places like Bedford, Stevenage, Milton Keynes, two in Northampton, and Wellingborough where a by-election may soon be called.Labour are asking that if they can tap into voters’ anger with the Conservatives and win in Mid Bedfordshire – where else could they cause an upset?
Mr Akinbusoye left the count, at the Central Bedfordshire Council offices in Chicksands, quickly after the result.
As he was leaving said he was “naturally disappointed” and, when asked what went wrong, he said it was simply all part of democracy.
Ms Holland-Lindsay said she was proud of the “positive campaign” her team had run.
“We have surged in this constituency. We increased our vote on the last general election and to be honest with you – bring on the next general election because we are ready for it,” she said.
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