What are Labour’s chances of winning the Wakefield by-election?

Labour is yet to win a single by-election from the Conservatives since the 2019 general election but this will be Sir Keir’s biggest chance, writes Ashley Cowburn

The only way is up: Keir Starmer has yet to celebrate any by-election victory where the Conservative incumbent has been toppled (Getty)

The former Tory MP Imran Ahmad Khan – who was found guilty this week of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old – announced on Thursday he would stand down from parliament. The decision triggers a potentially explosive by-election in the West Yorkshire seat of Wakefield.

The date for the vote will be announced when the Conservative chief whip moves the “writ”, a motion to elect a new MP, and is usually held between 21 and 27 days afterwards.

Traditionally a Labour stronghold and held by the party since the 1930s, the Wakefield constituency turned blue at the 2019 general election as Boris Johnson emerged with the biggest Conservative majority for decades.