Tory chief: We’re not worried by Labour
Boost for Boris in by-election win – even though party’s majority is slashed by 14,000
THE Tories are ‘not terribly worried about Labour’, party chairman Oliver Dowden claimed yesterday, after the Conservatives coasted to a comfortable win in the Bexley by-election.
Local councillor Louie French became Britain’s newest MP after winning the safe Tory seat of Old Bexley and Sidcup, albeit with a sharply reduced majority.
The constituency on the edge of south-east London was once held by former prime minister Sir Edward Heath and fell vacant following the death of former Cabinet minister James Brokenshire in October.
Mr French took more than half the votes in the contest, but a turnout of just 34 per cent meant the Conservatives’ majority was slashed from almost 19,000 to 4,478. The party’s share of the vote fell from 64.5 per cent to 51.5 per cent.
Labour pointed to a ten-point swing in its favour and claimed the result showed Sir Keir Starmer was on track for No 10 at the next election.
But previous mid-term governments have suffered swings of up to 44 per cent, and Mr Dowden said the solid Tory performance suggested Labour was struggling to break through.
The Tory chief said: ‘Governing parties shouldn’t expect to do well mid-term. We actually secured over 50 per cent of the vote in Bexley.
‘This idea that Labour have made some surge ahead is really for the birds. They’ve actually got about the same vote share as they secured under Jeremy Corbyn in 2017.
‘Keir Starmer couldn’t even be bothered to turn up to the byelection, so I am really not terribly worried about Labour.’
The Liberal Democrats and Greens both lost their deposits.
But in a development that will alarm some MPs, the Reform Party founded by Nigel Farage secured 6.6 per cent of the vote. Last month, Mr Farage said he was considering returning to front-line politics to campaign on issues such as immigration.
Tory sources said Mr Dowden’s comments did not mean they are complacent about the next election.
Boris Johnson yesterday travelled to North Shropshire, where many senior figures fear they will face a tougher by-election on December 16.
But a source said the Bexley victory – against a backdrop of rows about sleaze – disproved the narrative that the PM was in political trouble.
‘We are mid-term, it has not been a good month for the Government and people are being noisy about their frustrations with No10,’ the source said. ‘In that context, this is a very solid win. Labour never really looked like breaking through.’
The North Shropshire byelection was sparked by the resignation of disgraced former Cabinet minister Owen Paterson last month.
‘Never looked like breaking through’