Wakefield win for Labour creates questions for Toriespublished at 05:09 British Summer Time 24 June 2022

05:09 BST 24 June 2022

James Vincent
BBC Look North political editor in Wakefield

Image source, Reuters

Big smiles from Labour - quick exits from the Conservatives.

Labour were nervy earlier in the night but it became clear pretty quickly that they were going to get over the line - but by how much?

They’ll say a majority of nearly 5,000 is evidence they can take back seats here that they lost in 2019.

The Conservatives will point to this by-election being called for a very specific reason.

Boris Johnson-supporting MPs nearby say they back him because he’s an election winner.

But he’s not tonight - does that change how his party views him?

The prime minister didn’t visit this constituency during the campaign. A missed opportunity or damage limitation?

There will be plenty of analysis - but people in Wakefield who have effectively been without an MP for more than a year have now got someone talking for them at Westminster.

Image source, PA Media

"The Liberal Democrats have made political history with this stunning win", says party leader Sir Ed Davey.

"It is the biggest by-election victory our country has ever seen."

He said the result should be a "wake-up call" to Conservative MPs and one they "can't afford to ignore".

"The people of Tiverton and Honiton have spoken for the country," he says.

It was some hours ago, but if you cast your mind back to 22:00 last night, we reported that Boris Johnson was dismissing as "crazy" the idea he would resign if he lost both by-elections.

The prime minister, who is in Rwanda for the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting, told BBC political correspondent Alex Forsyth that parties in government rarely won by-elections. But he added he'd be watching the results with "interest".

Fast forward less than seven hours and the Conservatives have lost both by-elections - being trounced in both Wakefield and Tiverton and Honiton, with Labour securing a swing of 12.7% in West Yorkshire and the Liberal Democrats a huge swing of 30% in Devon.

How will the Conservative Party react now?

Reacting to Labour's win in Wakefield, party leader Sir Keir Starmer says the result shows that the country has "lost confidence in the Tories".

Sir Keir says: "This result is a clear judgement on a Conservative Party that has run out of energy and ideas."

He adds that Wakefield has voted for Labour "because we have the solutions for the challenges facing the British people".

"The Labour Party is back on the side of working people, winning seats where we lost before, and ready for government,” he says.

• Richard Foord (LD) 22,537 (52.91%, +38.14%)
• Helen Hurford (Con) 16,393 (38.49%, -21.72%)
• Liz Pole (Lab) 1,562 (3.67%, -15.88%)
• Gill Westcott (Green) 1,064 (2.50%, -1.34%)
• Andy Foan (Reform) 481 (1.13%)
• Ben Walker (UKIP) 241 (0.57%, -1.06%)
• Jordan Donoghue-Morgan (Heritage) 167 (0.39%)
• Frankie Rufolo (FB) 146 (0.34%)

• LD maj 6,144 (14.43%)
• 29.93% swing Con to LD
• Electorate 81,661; Turnout 42,591 (52.16%)
• 2019 Con maj 24,239

• Simon Lightwood (Lab) 13,166 (47.94%, +8.13%)
• Nadeem Ahmed (Con) 8,241 (30.00%, -17.26%)
• Akef Akbar (Ind) 2,090 (7.61%, +6.60%)
• David Herdson (Yorkshire) 1,182 (4.30%, +2.38%)
• Ashley Routh (Green) 587 (2.14%)
• Chris Walsh (Reform) 513 (1.87%)
• Jamie Needle (LD) 508 (1.85%, -2.09%)
• Ashlea Simon (Britain 1st) 311 (1.13%)
• Mick Dodgson (FA) 187 (0.68%)
• Sir Archibald Stanton Earl 'Eaton (Loony) 171 (0.62%)
• Paul Bickerdike (CPA) 144 (0.52%)
• Therese Hirst (Eng Dem) 135 (0.49%)
• Jordan Gaskell (UKIP) 124 (0.45%)
• Christopher Jones (NIP) 84 (0.31%)
• Jayda Fransen (Ind) 23 (0.08%)

• Lab maj 4,925 (17.93%)
• 12.69% swing Con to Lab
• Electorate 69,601; Turnout 27,466 (39.46%)
• 2019 Con maj 3,358

Labour secures convincing victory in Wakefield by-electionpublished at 04:21 British Summer Time 24 June 2022

04:21 BST 24 June 2022

Iain Watson
Political correspondent reporting from Wakefield

Image source, PA Media

Labour had some advantages going into this election.

The previous Conservative MP had been imprisoned. The candidate to replace him had suffered a vote of no confidence from his Wakefield Council colleagues. The prime minister had similar trouble from his own MPs.

And there is a cost of living crisis.

Unsurprisingly, I found voters switching from Conservative to Labour when I toured the seat yesterday. While the cost of living was mentioned by some, most blamed Boris Johnson himself for their switch.

Enthusiasm for Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer was at best muted. One person said her Labour vote was "a protest".

Labour's tactic in traditional Tory territory was to convince people to lend it their vote to "send Boris a message". And they seem to have had some success.

The scale of the victory matters though. Is Labour picking up new support or just regaining lost ground?

Labour aimed to wipe out the 6% swing against them at the last election. But as a benchmark, insiders felt an 8% swing against the Tories would demonstrate solid progress.

A 10.5% swing nationally would deliver an election victory. the Conservatives had been insisting the result would be much closer.

In raw terms the Labour majority is about twice the level they enjoyed when they last won here in 2017.

But at this June by-election it is worth remembering one swallow doesn't make a summer. The political landscape here could not have been more favourable.

But the grumblings at Westminster over Sir Keir Starmer's leadership will become far more muted. He still awaits the decision by Durham Police Over whether to fine him for "Beergate" but that not withstanding, the questions about political leadership will focus again on Boris Johnson.

Andrew Segal
BBC South West

The new Liberal Democrat MP for Tiverton and Honiton says his win shows that voters think "enough is enough" of Boris Johnson's leadership.

Richard Foord said it was an "extraordinary and historic result which has sent a shockwave through British politics".

He said: "Tonight the people of Britain have spoken.

“They’ve sent a loud and clear message: It's time for Boris Johnson to go and go now.”

He said the prime minister had brought a state of "shame, chaos and neglect”.

He added: “By any measure you are unfit to lead, and the people of Tiverton and Honiton have said is enough is enough.

“The only decent course of action is to heed their call and resign.”

Tory MPs may be nervous after Lib Dems take Tiverton and Honitonpublished at 04:15 British Summer Time 24 June 2022

04:15 BST 24 June 2022

Nick Eardley
Political correspondent, reporting from Crediton

The Conservatives have just lost a seat which they have held since it was created in 1997.

You have to go back to the 1920s to find a non-Conservative MP for this area (in the old Tiverton seat).

Not only that, the Tories have just lost a colossal majority. The Conservatives won by more than 24,000 at the last election three years ago.

This result sets a new record - no majority that big has ever been overturned at a by-election until now. The fact the Liberal Democrat’s won by 6,000 votes makes the result all the more remarkable.

And It’s a big moment for the party. They finished third here in 2019 - but have now secured their third by-election gain of this parliament.

The others were in long-standing Conservative constituencies with previously comfortable majorities too.

The Lib Dems think more Tory heartlands are in their sights based on results like tonight’s.

There are likely to be some nervous Tory MPs this morning.

The Liberal Democrats have achieved a stunning swing in taking Tiverton and Honiton from the Conservatives.

Their candidate Richard Foord overturned a Tory majority of more than 24,000 on a swing of nearly 30%.

It's the party's third gain from the Conservatives in just over a year, after victories in Chesham and Amersham and North Shropshire. The Lib Dems now have 14 MPs.

James Vincent
Political Editor BBC Look North

Image source, PA Media

That’s a majority that Labour will say proves they can win back seats up here and one that the Conservatives will say proves that this was a very specific by-election.

Lots of analysis about swings and percentages will follow.

But for Wakefield, the main thing is they have an MP that can represent them in Parliament.

Something that hasn’t happened for at least a year.

The Liberal Democrats have taken Tiverton and Honiton from the Conservatives, overturning a majority of more than 24,000.

Martyn Oates
BBC South West Political Editor

The Lib Dems say it’s looking like a clear win.

Now that would be a remarkable achievement nationally in itself if they have managed to demolish the outgoing MP Neil Parish’s 24,000-vote majority.

But beyond that, if that is the case and frankly even if they only manage to turn in a second place, I think that will be very concerning for Conservatives across the region.

Almost as soon as the dust settles in West Yorkshire - the result from Devon is next.

Labour have won the by-election in Wakefield – taking back a so-called "Red Wall" seat they held for 87 years until it was a Conservative gain at the 2019 general election.

The turnout was 39%.

It’s Labour’s first by-election gain in almost 10 years, when they took Corby from the Conservatives in November 2012.

It takes the total number of Labour MPs in the House of Commons to 200. If the Liberal Democrats are confirmed to have won Tiverton and Honiton, Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s majority in the Commons will fall to 68.

This is a sign that we are going to get a result from the by-election in West Yorkshire, as the candidates have been asked to take their places on the stage where the returning officer will read out how many votes each received.

We are waiting on the result - it is now looking slightly more imminent than it was when we teased earlier that it was due...

Stand by.

Gemma Dillon
Political reporter in Wakefield

Recently I spent time with students at Wakefield College, who it’s fair to say have mixed feelings about the city.

One, Josh, told me that he saw Wakefield as being left behind, but not as a result of a north/south divide but simply within the wider West Yorkshire region.

He reasoned that while money flows to larger near neighbour Leeds and Bradford recently won UK City of Culture for 2025, his home city got nothing.

To him, that’s a signal that when the time is right he will need to leave to try and get a better-paying job.

Image source, Getty Images

Other students were concerned about the cost of living, particularly around the cost of housing.

Ethan told me that he faced staying at home for longer as mortgages would be more difficult to get, as more of his disposable income would go on sorting the day-to-day rather than saving for a deposit.

Rising prices are cutting through - even when you are a teenager.

We're hearing from the count in West Yorkshire that the result of the by-election should be declared in the next few minutes.

Stay with us and we'll bring you the result, the reaction and the analysis right here.

Gemma Dillon
Political reporter

Speaking at the Wakefield count, Andrea Jenkyns, Conservative MP for Morley and Outwood, says: "If [Labour] can't storm here and get a big majority than I think it shows a problem with the Labour Party, especially because of the circumstances of by-elections.

"I've been on the doorstep for the last month, we've had nearly 130 MPs up, only a handful of people mentioned Partygate to me.

"There's certainly apathy there, but there's certainly not love for [Keir] Starmer."