Western Daily Press (Saturday)
By-election results ‘challenging’ – PM
RISHI Sunak has insisted the circumstances surrounding the Wellingborough and Kingswood by-elections were “particularly challenging” after suffering a double defeat that Sir Keir Starmer said showed people were “crying out for change”.
In his first remarks since the votes, the Prime Minister said there is “not a huge amount of enthusiasm” for Labour, despite the party flipping Tory majorities in the tens of thousands overnight.
The results mean the Conservative Government has endured more by-election losses than any administration since the 1960s, surpassing the eight defeats suffered by John Major in the run-up to Tony Blair’s 1997 landslide victory.
Speaking on a visit to Harlow, Essex, Mr Sunak said: “Mid-term elections are always difficult for incumbent governments, and the circumstances of these elections were of course particularly challenging.
“Now, I think if you look at the results, very low turnout, and it shows that we’ve got work to do to show people that we are delivering on their priorities and that’s what I’m absolutely determined to do, but also shows that there isn’t a huge amount of enthusiasm for the alternative in Keir Starmer and the Labour Party, and that’s because they don’t have a plan. And if you don’t have a plan, you can’t deliver real change. And when the general election comes, that’s the message I’ll be making to the country. Stick with our plan, because it is starting to deliver the change that the country wants and needs.”
The Wellingborough by-election was triggered by the six-week Commons suspension of former Tory MP Peter Bone after an inquiry found he had subjected a staff member to bullying and sexual misconduct.
Meanwhile, the Kingswood vote came after former Conservative MP Chris Skidmore resigned in protest at Government legislation to boost North Sea oil and gas drilling.
Sir Keir said Labour had seen “Tory switchers” making up part of its vote share, but also emphasised that he had warned his team against complacency in the run-up to this year’s general election.
“The progress we’ve now made (is) from the worst results since 1935 to being now credible contenders – and that is all we are – for the 2024 election,” he told BBC Breakfast.
“We’re trying to do, if you like, what Kinnock, what Smith and Blair did, over 13 or 14 years, in four short years.”
The by-elections came at testing times for both main parties, with Labour struggling to contain the fallout over a leaked recording of comments made by a parliamentary candidate about Israel and Jewish people.
Sir Keir acknowledged it had been a “bumpy” week, but insisted Thursday’s victories suggest the public can see that Labour has changed since Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership, which was often overshadowed by controversies surrounding its handling of antisemitism allegations.
The twin blows will compound Mr Sunak’s woes, coming a day after it was officially announced that the UK had entered a recession at the end of 2023. Later the PM talked up tax cuts under his leadership and insisted he can “give everyone peace of mind that there is a better future ahead” if the Government “sticks with the plan”.