Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has said there was "no doubt" Ulez was the reason his party failed to win the Uxbridge and South Ruislip by-election.

But when pressed by BBC political editor Chris Mason on whether plans to expand in London should be scrapped, Starmer swerved the question, saying London Mayor Sadiq Khan needs to "reflect" on it.

Starmer added that it was "too early say what should happen next".

Image source, PA Media

One constituency that didn't face a by-election yesterday was ex-Conservative minister Nadine Dorries’ Mid Bedfordshire seat - despite seven candidates already having made bids to replace her.

The former culture secretary said on 9 June she would be standing down with “immediate effect”, shortly before it was confirmed she would not appear on Boris Johnson's resignation honours list.

She has since laid the blame with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and delayed her exit from politics, while she gathers more information on why her peerage was denied.

By keeping the Tories waiting, she could force them into a potentially divisive contest later on – for example, ahead of the autumn party conference season and the publication of her new book.

Dorries told Talk TV last week she would be “gone long before the next general election”, but was staying on in the meantime to defend “the truth”.

Lib Dems win tactical votes in Fromepublished at 14:39 British Summer Time 21 July 2023

14:39 BST 21 July 2023

Jonathan Blake
BBC political correspondent

Image source, PA Media

Speaking to people in Frome town centre today, it’s hard to find anyone who voted Conservative.

What’s left of the Tories’ support is perhaps more likely to be found in the many villages dotted around this vast rural constituency.

Many people say they voted tactically, with Labour or Green supporters lending the Liberal Democrats their vote to ensure a Conservative defeat.

Former MP David Warburton's name comes up a fair bit, and rarely in a good way, and there’s no many doubt people have had enough of the drama at Westminster.

Lib Dems here are all smiles, giddy with victory, but they know they face a challenge to prove they're worth more than a protest vote, here and elsewhere, at a general election.

Shelley Phelps
Westminster correspondent reporting from Uxbridge

At Betty’s Cafe in Uxbridge, West London, people are digesting the news that the Conservatives have held this seat.

Enjoying a catch up over a fry-up are old friends, Barry Roberts and Colin Giddings. Both have lived in the town for decades.

“I voted against Labour over the Ulez and the closure of the police station,” Barry, 77, tells me.

This is despite, he adds, being “not a fan of Boris Johnson” and the back of Hillingdon hospital “falling apart”.

Colin tells me he also voted blue, but "was a bit wary" this time and is "not very happy with the way things are going".

One thing everyone in the cafe agrees on is that they’ll be glad when the area is out of the limelight, having had weeks of visits from politicians and journalists, and reams of leaflets through the door.

Jennifer McKiernan
reporting from Uxbridge

Lesley Storey, 62, said Ulez was the deciding factor in her vote, because she felt "very strongly" about it.

She said: "My son has had to sell his perfectly good vehicle and put himself into debt just to do his job.

"He's a young man, only 30, with a young family and it's such a worry for them."

Her daughter, Claire Howkins, 44, agreed the the low-emissions vehicle policy was "the biggest problem", although she understood the environmental concerns.

She said: "I've had to change my car and get in £10,000 worth of debt.

"I've got health complications and a big family so my car is so important to me."

The Mayor of London has defended the expansion of the Ultra Low Emission Zone (Ulez), after a Labour defeat in the Uxbridge and South Ruislip by-election.

Sadiq Khan says that clean air is "a human right, not a privilege".

The Conservatives held on to Boris Johnson's former seat, where the planned Ulez expansion to outer London dominated the campaign.

Image source, REUTERS/Phil Noble

Labour's Emily Thornberry has also been speaking on BBC Radio 4's World at One, where she says she hopes the government will work with London Mayor Sadiq Khan on issues arising from the Ultra Low Emissions Zone (Ulez).

"The government have given a large subsidy to Birmingham, to Bristol, to Bradford, I think £30-£40 million to each of those cities to help with scrappage... So if somebody has an old car and they need to change it, that they're given a subsidy."

"And the government haven't done that [for London]. And I don't know why.

"They're able to work with other cities and they're not able to work with the London mayor."

Ione Wells
Political correspondent

We've had this comment from the Tory MP Chris Skidmore who led a review into net zero policies for the government.

It called on the government to be more ambitious with its policies to tackle climate change.

He argues: "The reality is that that politics of protest will always be a key feature of by-elections: indeed that’s why polling experts refuse to read much into them.

"In Somerset they vote for the Lib Dems, and in Uxbridge they voted against Ulez: when it comes to the general election, both will be irrelevant.

"Uxbridge became a micro-referendum on ULEZ and its implementation, where there are issues around the limited scrap page scheme, though with such low turnouts these votes then get captured by those protest voters.

"The reality is that ULEZ was a Conservative policy, introduced by Boris Johnson as mayor and recently agreed by this government to be expanded in May 2020, as part of Covid loans to the mayor."

Image source, Ben Birchall/PA Wire

Sarah Dyke won the Somerton and Frome by-election because people wanted a strong representative, a Liberal Democrat MP has said.

Asked about the role of tactical voting, Richard Foord, who represents neighbouring constituency Tiverton and Honiton, tells BBC Radio 4's World At One people voted for the Lib Dems because they want someone who will speak up for the West Country.

"They knew by a electing a Liberal Democrat MP they would have that. And Sarah Dyke is that person," he says.

Foord compares his party's momentum to the period between the 1992 and 1997 general elections when the Lib Dems won four by-elections, before more than doubling the number of their seats at the 1997 general election.

Image source, Ben Birchall/PA Wire

BBC Radio 4's World at One has been in Somerton and Frome speaking to people about why they voted the way they did.

Our correspondent Jonathan Blake has said Conservative support in the constituency is "hard to find" - but it's clear that some of those who backed the victorious Liberal Democrats did so for purely tactical reasons.

One described themself as a "vacillating voter" who would have preferred to vote Green but opted for the Lib Dems at the last minute in order to beat the Tory candidate.

Another tactical voter said they would have liked to vote for Labour rather than the Lib Dems but that "wouldn't have got the Conservatives out" in the area.

Wato did manage to track down one Tory voter - but he said the government needs to "rethink policies in many areas and a good kicking like this should do them some good".

After weeks of speculation, Downing Street has told the BBC there is no reshuffle planned today.

It could still technically happen, but Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is out and about this morning before spending the weekend in his constituency.

That's good news for journalists and political watchers in need of some sleep after watching three by-elections come in overnight.

This was the moment newly-elected Labour MP Keir Mather spoke in Selby earlier.

Mather is now the youngest MP in the House of Commons.

Flanked by Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and deputy leader Angela Rayner, the new Selby and Ainsty by-election winner said they have made history in their campaign.

Read more about Keir Mather here.

Chris Mason
Political editor

This set of by-elections amounts to a single question: just how badly did the Conservatives do?

The answer - very badly. But not as badly as they had feared.

Firstly, Labour's victory in Selby and Ainsty is off the scale big. If Labour won on this scale nationally, they would be in government with a colossal majority. But the party has failed to take Uxbridge and South Ruislip.

Liberal Democrats' win in Somerton and Frome was also huge.

But they are a small party with limited resources. They threw everything at Somerton and Frome, and that kind of operation is much harder to do at a general election.

Overall, the scope for Conservative comfort anywhere after these results is very slender. But not as slender as it might have been.

Read more on this story here.

It's been a frenetic morning with plenty of reaction and analysis following the three by-election results overnight.

Here's a quick summary to bring you up to date:

• The Tories lost large majorities to Labour in Selby and Ainsty and the Lib Dems in Somerton and Frome, but narrowly held on to their Uxbridge and South Ruislip seat
• Labour leader Keir Starmer said the North Yorkshire victory shows his party has changed and "can win anywhere"
• Lib Dem leader Ed Davey - standing in front of a cartoon cannon - says the win in Somerset shows that voters are uniting to defeat the Conservatives
• But Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the Tories' success in north-west London shows the next election is "not a done deal"
• Both Labour and the Tories attributed the loss in Uxbridge to plans to expand Ulez

• Polling expert Prof John Curtice said the by-elections suggest the Tories are in "deep electoral trouble" and they should not take too much comfort from their Uxbridge win

Labour leader Keir Starmer earlier said today was a "day of firsts", after the party won the constituency of Selby and Ainsty for the first time.

He says the people who voted for Labour "voted for change away from the chaos", adding that his party "will deliver".

Here's more from his speech:

The by-election results were "a very bad night" for the Conservatives, a former Tory adviser has said.

Mo Hussein, a former special adviser to Amber Rudd and a former Downing Street press officer, told BBC News: "If we take a step back, I think there's no avoiding this is a very bad night for the Conservatives.

"If you look at the swing away from the Conservatives in all of the seats it does not bode well for the general election."

He added Tory MPs in marginal seats and those in Conservative strongholds will be worried and thinking about their futures.

Speaking to reporters, Starmer says the result shows Labour "can win anywhere" after making changes to the party.

He repeatedly emphasises that it's the first time Labour have overturned a 20,000 majority from the Tories in its history.

"We must continue to earn the trust of voters", he says.

Image source, .

After some comments from Labour's deputy leader Angela Rayner, we hear Keir Mather, the newly elected MP for Selby and Ainsty.

He starts by thanking voters in the area and promises he'll be working every day to "repay the faith" they have put in him.

He praises Labour activists for overturning a huge majority, saying that at the outset no one believed it was possible.

Mather says it is the "privilege of my life" to be elected for the constituency and that "he can't wait to get started".

Image source, .

Starmer says the Labour party is listening to the voters and will be the change that voters want to see.

He says "you voted for change" and promises "we will deliver that with the next Labour government".

He adds: “The priorities of working people are our priorities, and that's why people are prepared to put their trust in the Labour Party."

He says the by-election in Selby was only called because of chaos in the Conservative Party.

We then briefly hear from Angela Rayner, the deputy leader, who jokes about being in the middle of a "sandwich of Keirs".

She continues by saying Labour has won the seat in "Sunak's back garden", and voters want a credible plan for the future - addressing jobs, young people and productivity.

"Getting elected was one thing, but the work starts now," she adds.

Keir Starmer opens his speech by pointing out it's a "day of firsts" for Labour, celebrating its first win in Selby and Ainsty.

He jokes it's also the first time ever he's been able to say "well done Keir" - congratulating the victorious candidate Keir Mather.