Would You like a feature Interview?
All Interviews are 100% FREE of Charge
West Lancashire’s by-election proves Labor’s dominance in national polls is no mirage.
There was no realistic prospect of the Conservatives winning this seat, and even when most of the ‘red walls’ fell to the Tory takeover in the 2019 general election, they remained with Labor.
But the majority of new MP Ashley Dalton would nonetheless worry Conservative strategists. A landslide victory for Kea Starmer.
The seat result is even better for Labor than in the 1997 election, when Tony Blair’s party won its biggest post-war victory. It’s an ominous sign and a turnaround from the booming times of 2021, when the Tories under Boris Johnson repeatedly challenged Labor in the heart of their country.
Rishi Sunak has one small consolation. Nigel Farage’s latest Brexit Party, Reform UK, got less than 5% of the vote for him and made no real impact in West Lancashire. Concerns that the prime minister will find himself exposed to the right wing have not yet materialized.
This week, Mr. Sunak stabilized his Tory position and delighted many parliamentarians with the relative success of his reform and meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky. But this by-election is a reminder that Lord Kiel is in control.