Kingswood by-election: Labour's Damien Egan overturns large Tory majority

Labour has overturned a large Conservative majority to win the Kingswood by-election.

Damien Egan won the seat which previously had a Tory majority of more than 11,000, with a swing of 16.4%

During his victory speech in Bristol, he pledged to give the constituency its "future back", saying the town feels "neglected" after 14 years of a Conservative government.

Mr Egan won the by-election with 11,176 votes.

He will be the last MP in the constituency before the seat is dissolved and reshaped at the next general election.

Despite the short term role, he said winning the seat "feels amazing" and there is still "so much to do".

"[The] Conservative government have sucked the hope out of our country," he added.

Damien Egan said "the hard work starts now" after being elected

The vote in Kingswood was prompted by former Conservative MP Chris Skidmore's resignation after he stood down over the government's energy plans in early January.

Labour required a vote swing of 11.4% to win the seat and went beyond that figure comfortably to gain a majority of 2,501.

Conservative Party candidate, Sam Bromiley, who left soon after the announcement, came second with 8,675 votes.

"I have thoroughly enjoyed the last few weeks meeting residents and hearing about their concerns and ideas for our area," Mr Bromiley posted on social media.

Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg, whose North East Somerset constituency borders Kingswood, blamed the result on a low turnout and insisted Rishi Sunak's leadership is "solid" and "by-elections don't change that".

However he added, his party "needs some fresh ideas".

Conservative MP Jacob Rees-Mogg said the Tory's need "fresh ideas"

Reform UK's Rupert Lowe came in third place with 2,578 votes, fourth was Lorraine Francis of the Green Party with 1,459 votes.

Mr Lowe said gaining 10% was a "remarkable result" for his party.

"A huge thanks to everyone who helped with the campaign, we hit it hard and got rewarded for it from a standing start," he wrote on social media.

"Most importantly, thank you to everyone who voted for me. You sent Westminster a message," he added.

Andrew Brown of the Liberal Democrats received 861 votes and Nicholas Wood's UKIP had 129 votes.

Mr Brown congratulated Mr Egan on his win, saying "Britain desperately needs a change of government".

"By-elections are always odd affairs and it is clear our vote was squeezed - thank you to all those who did vote for me," he said in a post on social media.

Despite Labour's advance, the Green Party managed to win 3.4% of the vote in Kingswood - the fifth best result the party has ever achieved in a by-election.

Pete Simson, BBC Radio Bristol political reporter

"There have been just shy of 25,000 votes cast in Kingswood - a turnout of 37%.

"By-elections tend to see lower numbers vote, but that's still way down on the 50,000 who voted in here in the 2019 General Election, a turnout of over 70%.

"Kingswood's new MP Damien Egan accused the Conservative government of "sucking the hope out of the country" in his victory speech, urging voters to usher in a Labour government at the next general election.

"After a swift exit from the Conservative candidate - it was left to neighbouring MP Jacob Rees Mogg to speak to the media - insisting the result was in fact not that great for Labour, and that serving Governments tend to lose by-elections.

"Whilst this might be an exercise in damage limitation, it's right to point out nearly two-thirds of people in Kingswood didn't bother voting yesterday, perhaps highlighting a lack of enthusiasm in general for politics and the solutions being offered to the country's problems."

The Green Party's Lorraine Francis won 5.8% of the vote in Kingswood

Starmer: 'people want change'

Labour secured a double by-election win with the party's Gen Kitchen overturning a majority of 18,000 in Wellingborough - a swing of 28.5% from the Conservatives.

Party leader Keir Starmer said the "fantastic results" show "people want change and are ready to put their faith in a changed Labour Party to deliver it".

He added: "The Tories have failed. Rishi's recession proves that. That's why we've seen so many former Conservative voters switching directly to this changed Labour Party.

"Those who gave us their trust in Kingswood and Wellingborough, and those considering doing so, can be safe in the knowledge that we will spend every day working to get Britain's future back."

Labour Party leader Keir Starmer said it was a "fantastic result"

Shadow minister Chris Bryant said the party's win was down to "putting in the hard yards"

"Another domino has fallen," he said.

"This was a mountain and there is a whole mountain range ahead of us."

At a victory gathering in Kingswood Park Mr Egan said the "hard work starts now".

"People are having to worry about what they put in their trolley, families are cancelling holidays. People want to see more police and community policing back on our streets," he said.

"It still hasn't quite sunk in. From the bottom of my heart, thank you everyone for your support."