Labour's Chris Webb Wins Blackpool South with 26.3% Swing, Tories Second, Reform UK Close

May 3, 2024, 04:10 AM

In the recent Blackpool South by-election, Labour candidate Chris Webb secured a significant victory, receiving 10,825 votes, which amounted to 58.9% of the vote share. This win marked a substantial swing from the Conservatives to Labour, calculated at 26.3%, making it one of the largest swings in postwar electoral history. The Conservatives, who previously held the seat from 1997 to 2019, came in second with 3,218 votes, narrowly ahead of Reform UK, which garnered 3,101 votes. The by-election was influenced by scandals involving former Conservative MPs Scott Benton and Mark Menzies. This result has been described as a 'seismic' victory for Labour and a major setback for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, whose party also faced substantial losses in local council elections, with projections indicating over 500 lost seats.