Labour swept to victory in the Stretford and Urmston by-election which saw the Tory vote share fall below 16 per cent.
Andrew Western became the country’s newest MP after a comfortable victory which saw a 10.5 per cent swing from Conservatives to Labour.
Bitterly cold conditions on polling day and the expectation of an easy Labour hold contributed to turnout of just 25.8 per cent.
The election saw Mr Western gain 12,828 votes or 69.7 per cent, up 9.3 per cent on the 2019 General Election.
Conservative candidate Emily Carter-Kandola got 2,922 votes, or 15.9 per cent, down 11.7 per cent.
The Greens nipped into third place with Dan Jerrome gaining 789 votes, 4.3 per cent, up 1.6 per cent.
They overtook the Liberal Democrats whose candidate Anna Fryer was backed by 659 voters, 3.6 per cent, down 2.4 per cent on the 2019 election.
Tory polling expert Lord Hayward said his party should be worried about the result and that it would be “concerning” to other nearby Conservative MPs, especially with local elections in recent years showing support ebbing away from their party.
“It’s disappointing but not bad for the Conservatives, pleasing for the Labour Party,” he told Sky News.
But he said the fall for the Tories was less than polls had indicated and there was a smaller swing away from his party than two weeks ago at the Chester by-election.
Mr Western, who secured a majority of 9,906, said the result sent a “strong message” to Rishi Sunak’s Government.
“The people of Stretford and Urmston do not just speak for this constituency but for millions more people up and down the land who know that this Government has been letting us down for the past 12 years,” he said.
“The Tories have given up on governing and it is increasingly clear that the British people are giving up on them.”
The contest was called in response to former Labour frontbencher Kate Green stepping down to become Greater Manchester deputy mayor.
