Starmer says ‘fantastic’ byelection wins show Labour is trusted to deliver change

Keir Starmer has hailed Labour’s “fantastic” results in the Kingswood and Wellingborough byelections after the party secured two victories which suggest the party is on course for a majority at the general election this year.

The Labour leader said the gain of two relatively safe Tory seats showed voters wanted change and trusted his party to deliver it.

The party secured a near-record swing of 28.5% in Wellingborough and a more modest one of 16.4% in Kingswood, both of which would give them a secure majority if repeated at a national vote.

Starmer said in a statement: “These are fantastic results in Kingswood and Wellingborough that show people want change and are ready to put their faith in a changed Labour party to deliver it.

“By winning in these Tory strongholds, we can confidently say that Labour is back in the service of working people and we will work tirelessly to deliver for them.”

Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, the party’s election coordinator, Pat McFadden, said: “They are really stunning results. They show the progress that we’ve made, and they also show Rishi Sunak’s continuing, terrible record every time he’s in contact with real voters.”

The swing in Wellingborough, where 28-year-old Gen Kitchen overturned a Conservative majority of 18,000, would be enough that if repeated at a general election it could see the Tories win just four seats. It is Labour’s biggest swing from the Tories since 1994, and the second biggest since the war.

Kitchen said: “This is a stunning victory for the Labour party and must send a message from Northamptonshire to Downing Street.”

The circumstances in that vote were unusual, however, given the Conservative candidate, Helen Harrison, is the partner of the former MP Peter Bone, who was recalled by voters after being found to have bullied a member of staff.

In Kingswood, where Damien Egan won with a majority of about 2,500, the swing to Labour would give them a majority of about 60 seats if repeated nationally. The victory was more modest, however, than its wins in three byelections last year, reflecting a slight drop in Labour’s poll lead since then.

Friday’s results will provide welcome relief for Starmer, who has endured a bruising two weeks after dropping his pledge to spend £28bn a year on green investment and suspending two Labour candidates who were recorded making derogatory remarks about Israel.

Conservatives insisted on Friday they could still win a general election, pointing out the low turnout and the strong results for Reform UK, which won more than 10% in both seats. Some Tories believe they will boost turnout and squeeze the Reform vote when voters are forced to decide between Starmer and Sunak.

Jacob Rees-Mogg, the Conservative former cabinet minister, said on Friday: “If you add together the Conservative and Reform party vote, it’s more than the Labour party vote. I think a general election focuses people’s minds in a different way than a byelection.”

Such a result, however, would mean winning almost every single Reform vote, something pollsters say is unlikely. Instead, Reform could cost the Tories dozens of seats at a general election.

John Curtice, a professor of politics at Strathclyde University, said: “[Reform’s result] makes life even more difficult for the Conservatives than it was already … The competition for lost, discontented Conservative voters has just got that much more intense.”