Labour are celebrating after claiming an “historic” by-election victory.
Sarah Edwards took the Tamworth parliamentary seat – which includes areas such as Fazeley, Stonnall and Shenstone – after collecting 11,719 votes.
The result, which saw Andy Cooper finish second for the Conservatives with 10,403 votes, meant a 23.9% swing on what had previously been considered a safe Tory seat.
Sarah said:
“It’s the honour of a lifetime to have been chosen as Tamworth’s MP. Voters have put their trust in me and a changed Labour Party and I won’t let them down.
“For months, people here have been telling me that they’re worse off under the Tories. We ran a positive campaign here in Tamworth, focused on the issues that matter to people like tackling the cost of living, bringing down NHS waiting lists and tackling anti social behavior.
“Voters have chosen a positive Labour vision, a fresh start and Keir Starmer’s vision for a mission-driven government over more chaos with the Conservatives.
“The Conservatives have taken this place for granted for too long, voters have been let down by Rishi Sunak and his party.
“It’s working people who have had to pay the price for their mismanagement of this country, as Tamworth’s MP I’ll be doing everything I can to protect my constituents from these out-of-touch Tories.”
Sarah Edwards
The by-election was called following the resignation of Christopher Pincher after being suspended for groping two men in a club.
The vote had been seen as a key battleground with senior figures from across the political spectrum joining their respective candidates on the campaign trail.
The results saw Labour’s share of the vote grew from 23.7% in 2019 to 45.8% this time around.
Stephanie Peacock, Labour’s political lead for the by-election, said:
“This is a historic victory for the Labour Party.
“We spoke to thousands of residents, we offered them a positive plan for Tamworth to fix the 13 years of Tory decline and as you’ve seen, they voted overwhelmingly for that Labour vision.
“Voters have clearly put their faith in Keir Starmer’s Labour Party, and that message came back to us from the voters. They’ve seen what Keir and the Labour Party have to offer and they’ve put their trust in Labour and in Sarah Edwards.
“Sarah will be an exceptional MP for Tamworth. She’s already been delivering for working people in this town for many years and now she’s going to do it for even more.
“I’m looking forward to welcoming her into Parliament next week where the hard work really starts.”
Stephanie Peacock
