Voters in England are going to the polls today in three constituencies in London, North Yorkshire and Somerset to elect new MPs.
Ballot boxes in Uxbridge and South Ruislip, Selby and Ainsty, and Somerton and Frome are now open with results expected in the early hours of Friday morning.
The three seats are being filled due to outgoing Conservative MPs – former prime minister Boris Johnson, Nigel Adams, and David Warburton, who has been an independent since last year.
A UK parliamentary by-election happens when a seat in the House of Commons becomes vacant between general elections.
This can happen when an MP:
- resigns or dies
- is declared bankrupt
- takes a seat in the House of Lords
- is convicted of a serious criminal offence.
The three seats in Uxbridge and South Ruislip, Selby and Ainsty, and Somerton and Frome were won by the Conservatives at the last general election in 2019.
Boris Johnson had a majority of 7,210 when Uxbridge and South Ruislip was last contested at the general election in 2019. Selby and Ainsty saw Nigel Adams elected in the same year with a majority of over 20,000 and Mr Warburton’s seat of Somerton and Frome saw him get a 19,213 majority in 2019.
There are 17 candidates in Uxbridge and South Ruislip:
- Blaise Baquiche, Liberal Democrat
- Danny Beales, Labour
- Cameron Bell, Independent
- Count Binface, Count Binface Party
- Piers Corbyn, Let London Live
- Laurence Fox, Reclaim Party
- Steve Gardner, Social Democratic Party
- Ed Gemmell, Climate Party
- Sarah Green, Green Party
- Kingsley Hamilton, Independent
- Richard Hewison, Rejoin EU
- Howling Hope, Official Monster Raving Loony Party
- 77 Joseph, Independent
- Rebecca Jane, UKIP
- Enomfon Ntefon, Christian Peoples Alliance
- Leo Phaure, Independent
- Steve Tuckwell, Conservative Party
There are 13 candidates in Selby and Ainsty:
- Andrew Gray, Independent
- Claire Holmes, Conservative Party
- Mike Jordan, Yorkshire Party
- Dave Kent, Reform UK
- Keir Mather, Labour Party
- Nick Palmer, Independent
- Guy Phoenix, Heritage Party
- Sir Archibald Stanton, The Official Monster Raving Loony Party
- Matt Walker, Liberal Democrats
- Arnold Warneken, Green Party
- John Waterston, Social Democratic Party
- Luke Wellock, Climate Party
- Tyler Wilson-Kerr, Independent
And there are eight candidates in Somerton and Frome:
- Lorna Corke, Christian Peoples Alliance
- Martin Dimery, Green Party
- Sarah Dyke, Liberal Democrat Party
- Bruce Evans, Reform UK
- Neil Guild, Labour Party
- Rosie Mitchell, Independent
- Faye Purbrick, Conservative Party
- Peter Richardson, UKIP
A bad result for the Conservatives could see Rishi Sunak become the first prime minister for decades to lose three by-elections in a single day. It is thought Mr Sunak is bracing for a defeat and could be reshuffling the cabinet on Friday in order to distract from any bad news headlines.
However, other reports suggest Mr Sunak will wait until September for a switch up of his top ministers. One source said the PM was “relatively upbeat” last night and used his end-of-term speech in Parliament before MPs departed Westminster for their six-week summer recess, to rally his backbenchers to unite behind him for an autumn fightback.
Sources said he told them that “governing parties rarely win by-elections” but urged the MPs to unite in the face of any defeat as he pledged to “throw everything” at winning the next election.
Conservative MP Jonathan Gullis told journalists waiting outside:
“Rishi said what we already know — it’s going to be a tough battle. No one likes a by-election. The circumstances of these by-elections aren’t necessarily ideal.
“He was asking all of us to unite behind him when we come back in the autumn. We need to be one team. A united party wins, a divided party loses.”
As the parliamentary term ends, Conservatives lag Labour by an average of 20 points and Rishi Sunak’s net favourability has sunk to -40 according to YouGov, his lowest rating since becoming prime minister last year.
However, there are glimmers of hope on the horizon. Inflation is falling more than expected, reaching a 15-month low of 7.9 per cent last month, the Government’s flagship Illegal Migration Bill is finally heading for the statute books and investment is flooding onto Britain’s shores with the Tata Group announcing yesterday plans to build a £4 billion gigafactory in the UK in a huge boost to the UK’s domestic car industry.
Polls close tonight at 10pm with results expected in the early hours of Friday morning.
To find out more about by-elections click here.
