By-elections: Rishi Sunak says next election is not a done deal
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Rishi Sunak has held on to Boris Johnson’s former seat in Uxbridge- a win widely seen as a result of Ulez - despite suffering two painful by-election blows.
The race in the former PM’s constituency went down to the wire as a recount in the small hours of Friday – but it was Mr Sunak’s party who clung on, saving him from a “disastrous” triple by-election defeat in something of an embarrassment for Sir Keir Starmer.
Angela Rayner suggested Labour did not win in Uxbridge and South Ruislip because it did not “listen to the voters”’ concerns about Ulez.
“I think one of the things we have to reflect on today is not only the mood against the Tories, but also the decision in Uxbridge was related to Ulez.
“The Uxbridge result shows that when you don’t listen to the voters, you don’t win elections.”
Labour overturned the Tories’ 20,000 majority in Selby and Ainsty in the largest swing since months prior to Tony Blair’s 1997 landslide.
In Somerton and Frome, the Lib Dems also overturned the Tories’ 19,000 majority, winning by 11,000 votes.
Steve Tuckwell ‘privileged and humbled’ by Uxbridge win
Tory Steve Tuckwell said: “I’m incredibly privileged and humbled to have been elected as the MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip.
“It’s the place where I was born, the place where I was raised, the place where I have a family and it’s the place where I’ve spent all 54 years of my existence.”
He said prime minister Rishi Sunak congratulated him and “was just sharing the celebration of a great success” during his visit to the west London seat.
Voters ‘don’t like Labour being in power’, claims Tory chair
Tory chairman Greg Hands said the party’s win in Uxbridge “surprised everybody” and said the result shows “the electorate don’t like Labour being in power and running things badly”.
“I think the most important takeaway from this is that the electorate don’t like Labour being in power and running things badly,” he told Times Radio.
Mr Hands told Radio 4’s Today programme that Labour’s struggle with Ulez showed they had failed to “go with the grain of human nature”.
The Tory chair insisted that the Tories were not opposed to what David Cameron used to “green crap”, but he refused to say whether it was an opportunity for the party to change tack on the environment and green taxes.
In pictures: Tories win by election in Uxbridge and South Ruislip
The race in Boris Johnson’s former constituency went down to the wire as a recount in the small hours of Friday – but it was Rishi Sunak’s party who clung on as Steve Tuckwell took the win.
Rishi Sunak and Steve Tuckwell thank Tory campaigners on Uxbridge victory visit
Rishi Sunak and the victorious Tory candidate Steve Tuckwell arrived at a cafe in Uxbridge and South Ruislip to loud clapping and cheering.
The prime minister chatted to people sitting at the tables, celebrating the result which saw Mr Tuckwell hold on with a majority of just 495, down from the 7,210 Boris Johnson secured in 2019.
“Are you all pumped?” Mr Sunak said to one group as he thanked Tory campaigners.
He also joked: “Normally when I get woken up at three in the morning it’s only bad news. So, it was a welcome change.”
Watch: Keir Mather, UK’s youngest MP, says Labour has ‘rewritten the rules’
Labour blames Sadiq Khan’s Ulez for Uxbridge by-election flop
Deputy leader Angela Rayner admitted that Labour flopped in the north-west London constituency did not win did not “listen to the voters” concerns about Ulez.
Despite overturning a 20,000 Tory majority to take the North Yorkshire seat of Selby, a downbeat Ms Rayner said: “We’ve got to keep our feet on the ground … Uxbridge wasn’t the result, we narrowly lost again in that seat.”
Our political correspondent Adam Forrest reports:
Watch: Tory minister mocks 25-year-old Keir Mathers as Labour’s ‘Inbetweeners’ MP
Sunak congratulates Steve Tuckwell on Uxbridge win
Rishi Sunak congratulated Steve Tuckwell on his “much deserved result” to win in Uxbridge in South Ruislip.
The prime minister tweeted: “Congratulations Steve, a much deserved result after a great campaign.
“I look forward to welcoming you in Westminster as our new Conservative MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip!”
Tory chairman accuses Starmer of ‘flip-flopping’ on Ulez
Tory chairman Greg Hands has accused Sir Keir Starmer of “flip flopping” on Ulez.
“There’ll be real questions in Labour headquarters today about not gaining Uxbridge,” the Tory chairman told GB News.
“Londoners see that Labour is not good at running things and they see that Keir Starmer is changing his views all the time depending on the audience that he has in front of him.
“In inner London he’s pro-Ulez, put him in outer London he’s suddenly expressing his doubts about Ulez.”
Polling expert says Tories are in ‘deep electoral trouble'
Polling expert Professor Sir John Curtice has said the Tories are in “deep electoral trouble” following their by-election defeats.
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “Taken in the round, these by-election results do suggest that the Conservatives remain in deep electoral trouble, as the opinion polls have been telling us.”
Across the three seats contested, the Conservative vote was down 21 percentage points which is comparable to the national polling, he said.
He said Labour must ask why its hold on the electorate is “apparently so weak” that when a local issue like the Ulez ultra low emission zone in Uxbridge comes up they “don’t perform as they should”.
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2023-07-21 08:11:33Z
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