Labour wins Tamworth in Staffordshire with swing of 23.9 percentage points away from Tories, then scoops up Mid Bedfordshire in largest ever turnaround of a majority in a UK byelection. Follow the news and reaction here
Good morning. The word “historic” is overused by journalists, but even the most curmudgeonly subeditor is not going to object to it being allowed out of the cupboard this morning after Labour two byelection gains in what the party described as “the biggest byelection shock in history”.
The results came within an hour of each other. Shortly before 3am, Labour won Tamworth, the previously safe Tory seat in Staffordshire where the byelection was caused by the resignation of the former deputy chief whip over a groping scandal that contributed to the downfall of Boris Johnson. Labour won with a swing of 23.9 percentage points, the second largest swing the party has achieved in a byelection since 1945.
This is a huge night. Make no bones about it, this is a political earthquake that has unfolded here.
This is the biggest by-election shock in history, it is a political earthquake and it is one that is sending an unignorable message to Westminster and to Rishi Sunak that this country deserves better.
