Britain’s opposition Labour Party won a contest for a new lawmaker in the southwestern English town of Kingswood today, dealing a blow to the governing Conservatives before a national vote expected this year.
The Kingswood defeat for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Conservatives looked to be the first of two today, with Labour expecting to win another by-election in the central English town of Wellingborough.
Labour candidate Damien Egan won with 11 176 votes against 8 675 for the Conservative candidate, Sam Bromiley.
Egan said after his victory: “In Kingswood, as across the country, 14 years of Conservative government has sucked the hope out of our country. There is a feeling that no matter how hard you work, you just can’t move forward.”
He called on voters to stick with Labour at this year’s national election, saying they could choose between “more managed decline, more chaos, more division” from the Conservatives or “a changed Labour Party, a government that will put people first … and that will rebuild Great Britain”.
