Labour has overturned massive Conservative majorities in a history-making pair of byelections, sending the Tories deeper into in-fighting and acrimony over the prospect of a landslide defeat at the upcoming general election.
The wins in Mid Bedfordshire and Tamworth prompted gleeful talk within Labour of a possible 1997-type win on the horizon, but Keir Starmer’s aides were quick to warn MPs and the party more widely against complacency.
