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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Stoke and Copeland by-elections: Votes being counted | Stoke and Copeland by-elections: Votes being counted |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Votes are being counted in the Parliamentary by-elections in Stoke-on-Trent Central and Copeland. | Votes are being counted in the Parliamentary by-elections in Stoke-on-Trent Central and Copeland. |
| Labour is defending both seats after former frontbenchers Tristram Hunt and Jamie Reed resigned. | |
| It has not lost either seat since their creation but faces challenges from the Conservatives and UKIP. | |
| Results are expected to be announced between 03:00 GMT and 04:00. Voter turnout was low in Stoke at 38% but 51.35% in Copeland. | |
| Polling day coincided with Storm Doris hitting the country with heavy rain and strong winds. | |
| BBC Newsnight political editor Nick Watt said the two by-election results would be scrutinised for signs of how the Labour leader was performing in areas that voted to leave the EU in last year's referendum. | BBC Newsnight political editor Nick Watt said the two by-election results would be scrutinised for signs of how the Labour leader was performing in areas that voted to leave the EU in last year's referendum. |
| 'Most likely' | 'Most likely' |
| He said in Stoke-on-Trent, where UKIP leader Paul Nuttall is hoping to capitalise on the Brexit vote, Labour felt they might just win, but in Copeland, where the Conservatives came second in 2015 and where the nuclear industry has been a big issue during the campaign, they were more nervous. | He said in Stoke-on-Trent, where UKIP leader Paul Nuttall is hoping to capitalise on the Brexit vote, Labour felt they might just win, but in Copeland, where the Conservatives came second in 2015 and where the nuclear industry has been a big issue during the campaign, they were more nervous. |
| UKIP's sole MP Douglas Carswell told BBC One's Question Time he thought it was "most likely that Labour will hold the seat" in Stoke. | UKIP's sole MP Douglas Carswell told BBC One's Question Time he thought it was "most likely that Labour will hold the seat" in Stoke. |
| He added: "Stoke is not even within our top 50 target seats. It's been a Labour-voting constituency since 1950, if we were to win it would be such an earthquake it would be akin to the great Spen Valley by-election of 1919 which marked the demise of the old Liberal Party." | He added: "Stoke is not even within our top 50 target seats. It's been a Labour-voting constituency since 1950, if we were to win it would be such an earthquake it would be akin to the great Spen Valley by-election of 1919 which marked the demise of the old Liberal Party." |
| Labour is defending a 2,564 majority in the west Cumbrian seat of Copeland, where a Conservative victory would mark the first by-election gain by a governing party since 1982. | Labour is defending a 2,564 majority in the west Cumbrian seat of Copeland, where a Conservative victory would mark the first by-election gain by a governing party since 1982. |
| Mr Reed, who had been an MP since 2005, resigned to take a job in the nuclear industry. With thousands of people employed in the sector, nuclear power has been a key campaign theme along with warnings about local NHS cuts. | Mr Reed, who had been an MP since 2005, resigned to take a job in the nuclear industry. With thousands of people employed in the sector, nuclear power has been a key campaign theme along with warnings about local NHS cuts. |
| Labour has Gill Troughton as its candidate, a councillor and former doctor and ambulance driver, who is up against Conservative Trudy Harrison, who lives in the village of Bootle and was a parish councillor for a number of years. | Labour has Gill Troughton as its candidate, a councillor and former doctor and ambulance driver, who is up against Conservative Trudy Harrison, who lives in the village of Bootle and was a parish councillor for a number of years. |
| In Stoke, Labour's majority has been decreasing in recent years, from 19,924 in 1997 to 5,179 in 2015. | In Stoke, Labour's majority has been decreasing in recent years, from 19,924 in 1997 to 5,179 in 2015. |
| UKIP is hoping to capitalise on voters' leanings towards Brexit - the area voted strongly to leave the EU in June - and is fielding its leader, Paul Nuttall, against Labour's Gareth Snell. | UKIP is hoping to capitalise on voters' leanings towards Brexit - the area voted strongly to leave the EU in June - and is fielding its leader, Paul Nuttall, against Labour's Gareth Snell. |
| Both candidates have had tough moments during their campaigns, with Mr Snell apologising over old social media posts about women appearing on television and Mr Nuttall facing a backlash over false claims he lost close friends in the Hillsborough tragedy. | Both candidates have had tough moments during their campaigns, with Mr Snell apologising over old social media posts about women appearing on television and Mr Nuttall facing a backlash over false claims he lost close friends in the Hillsborough tragedy. |
| Two UKIP officials from Liverpool and Merseyside branches resigned following the row, saying Mr Nuttall had been "unprofessional" and donor Arron Banks showed "crass insensitivity" in subsequent comments about the disaster. | Two UKIP officials from Liverpool and Merseyside branches resigned following the row, saying Mr Nuttall had been "unprofessional" and donor Arron Banks showed "crass insensitivity" in subsequent comments about the disaster. |
| The Conservatives, who were narrowly forced into third in 2015 by UKIP, are putting forward 25-year-old Jack Brereton. As with Copeland, a Conservative win would be first by-election gain by any government for 35 years. | The Conservatives, who were narrowly forced into third in 2015 by UKIP, are putting forward 25-year-old Jack Brereton. As with Copeland, a Conservative win would be first by-election gain by any government for 35 years. |