Labour wins shock by-election double as Tories blame low turnouts

The Labour Party has secured surprising by-election victories in Tamworth and Mid-Bedfordshire, overturning two huge Conservative majorities.

In Tamworth, Labour’s Sarah Edwards has overcome a massive 19,000 seat majority to replace disgraced Tory MP Chris Picher and secure the second largest Tory to Labour swing since the end of the Second World War.

It’s a similar story in Mid-Bedfordshire, a seat which the Tories have held since 1931, most recently by former Conservative Cabinet minister Nadine Dorries.

Labour’s Alistair Strathern has overturned Dorries’ 2019 majority of almost 25,000.

Labour Leader Sir Keir Starmer has hailed the wins "historic", but turnouts in both constituencies were less than half those in the 2019 general election, a point Conservatives are making as they try to explain the defeat.

Report by Brooksl.

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