Labour has retained the parliamentary seat of Stretford and Urmston in northwest England, by-election results announced in the small hours of Friday showed.
The seat went to the polls to choose a new MP after Labour’s former minister Kate Green stepped down last month after being nominated as deputy mayor of Greater Manchester.
Andrew Western, Labour’s candidate to replace Ms Green, held the seat with a majority of 9,906, the party’s second by-election victory since Rishi Sunak entered office less than two months ago.
The win for Labour comes amid a cost-of-living crisis, soaring inflation and a growing wave of industrial action across the UK.
In his victory speech Mr Western said the results gave a “strong message” to the Sunak government.
“The Tories have given up on governing and it is increasingly clear that the British people are giving up on them,” he said.
“And 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.
“Twelve failing years of Conservative government, coming to an end.”
Although Mr Western’s 9,906-vote majority was down on the majority of 16,417 won by Ms Green in 2019, it came from a greatly reduced turnout of around 25 per cent. By-election turnouts are often lower than at general elections, and many voters stayed away amid a general expectation that Labour would win.
In percentage terms, Mr Western secured 69.65 per cent of the votes, up 9.34 per cent on the snap general election three years ago – a 10.5 per cent swing from the Conservatives to Labour.
“Labour stands ready to deliver for our country and only Labour has a plan for working people and to create a fairer, greener, future,” Mr Western said.
“It is clear from this result tonight, and indeed the result two weeks ago in Chester, that people are ready for a Labour government, and let the message go out tonight that Labour are ready to govern. Thank you.”
Additional reporting by agencies
