Labour overturns 11,200 Tory majority to win at Kingswood by-election

Labour’s Damien Egan has won the Kingswood seat, overcoming a large majority to beat off Tory candidate Sam Bromiley

Labour Party candidate, Damien Egan, is hugged after being declared the winner in the Kingswood by-election (Getty Images)

The Conservatives have suffered a major by-election defeat in Kingswood - with Labour’s Damien Egan overcoming a Tory majority of more than 11,000 to win the seat.

Mr Egan, who stepped down as mayor of Lewisham in south-east London to contest the seat, was elected after winning 11,176 votes. He beat nearest rival Tory candidate Sam Bromiley, who received 8,675 votes, by a margin of 2,501.

The victory saw a 16.4 percentage point swing in the share of the vote - much more than the 11.4 point swing required. Yet turnout was low with just 37.1 per cent of the electorate voting.

The result came just two hours before Labour overturned an even bigger Tory majority to take Wellingborough.

Following the victory in Kingswood, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said: “This is a fantastic result in Kingswood that shows people are ready to put their trust in a Labour government.

Mr Egan leaves with his husband Yossi Felderbaum (R) after being declared the winner in the Kingswood by-election (Getty Images)

“By winning in this Tory stronghold, we can confidently say that Labour is back in the service of working people and we will work tirelessly to deliver for them.”

Mr Egan, aged 42, rushed from a family home in the town of Yate to make the result, which was declared earlier than predicted.

Asked for his reaction and how he’d achieved the victory, he told The Independent: “Incredibly exciting, it really hasn’t sunk in at all yet. I think the reason [we won] was because we talked to people about the issues that they cared about, cost-of-living crisis, talking about policing and feeling safer on the streets, and the NHS.”

Mr Bromiley, who had focused on protecting green belt land, was not seen after the winning address by Mr Egan.

However, Tory former minister Jacob Rees-Mogg said people shouldn’t read too much into the result of a by-election with low turnout. Asked if the Conservatives can win the general election, he replied: “Oh yes, but there is alot of work to be done.”

The North East Somerset MP also said that the party needed to win back people who had voted for Rupert Lowe, of Reform UK, who received 2,578 votes.

Giving his winning address, Mr Egan said the Conservative government “have sucked the hope out of our country" (Getty Images)

The by-election was called after former MP Chris Skidmore stepped down in protest against the government plans for oil and gas in the North Sea - but the seat itself will be scrapped at the next general election under boundary changes, meaning Mr Egan will have less than a year on the constituency.

However, he has already been chosen as the Labour candidate for a new ward called Bristol North East, which will include the town of Kingswood.

Mr Egan grew up in the town and served as a local councillor before moving to London where he pursued a political career in Lewisham, being elected mayor in 2018 and 2022.

He speeded up his planned return home with Mr Skidmore’s resignation, and after initially staying with his sister, he now lives in a suburb in the constituency called Staple Hill.

His campaign saw him highlight the difficulties faced in seeing a doctor or dentist, the lack of police on the streets and the need for more homes. And he received visits from high-ranking party members, including Sir Keir in an event at his old school.

Labour MP Sir Chris Bryant said: “We ran a campaign based on Damien’s plan and what he wanted to get done for Kingswood and what he wanted to campaign for. Undoubtedly the biggest thing of all is the Rishi recession because you didn’t need to have it announced on the news – people felt it in their pocket.”

And Mr Egan said: “In Kingswood, as across the country, 14 years of Conservative government have sucked the hope out of our country with a feeling that no matter how hard you work, you just can’t move forward.

“And with Rishi’s recession we’re left again paying more and getting less. It doesn’t have to be this way, you know it, I know it, we all know it.”

On the other candidates, Andrew Brown, of Lib Dems, received 861 votes, Lorraine Francis, of the Green Party, 1,450 votes and Nicholas Wood, of UKIP, 129 votes.