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| Labour ousted by Tories in Copeland but sees off Ukip challenge in Stoke | Labour ousted by Tories in Copeland but sees off Ukip challenge in Stoke |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Labour suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of the the Conservative party in Copeland, a heartland seat dominated by the party since 1924, just half an hour after the party saw off Ukip leader Paul Nuttall in a bitter battle for Stoke Central. | Labour suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of the the Conservative party in Copeland, a heartland seat dominated by the party since 1924, just half an hour after the party saw off Ukip leader Paul Nuttall in a bitter battle for Stoke Central. |
| Jeremy Corbyn is under mounting pressure after Labour’s Gillian Troughton was defeated by the Conservatives’ Trudy Harrison, marking the first time a governing party has taken a seat from another party in a byelection in 35 years. | Jeremy Corbyn is under mounting pressure after Labour’s Gillian Troughton was defeated by the Conservatives’ Trudy Harrison, marking the first time a governing party has taken a seat from another party in a byelection in 35 years. |
| The defeat will force some soul-searching about the party’s electoral tactics, in a constituency facing an imminent threat to the local maternity unit and a laser-focus on the NHS by Labour. Critics of the Labour leader will claim that his perceived hostility to the nuclear industry – which employs more than 10,000 workers in the west Cumbrian constituency – was key to the defeat. | The defeat will force some soul-searching about the party’s electoral tactics, in a constituency facing an imminent threat to the local maternity unit and a laser-focus on the NHS by Labour. Critics of the Labour leader will claim that his perceived hostility to the nuclear industry – which employs more than 10,000 workers in the west Cumbrian constituency – was key to the defeat. |
| But Nuttall’s defeat in Stoke will undermine his oft-stated ambition to replace Labour as the voice of the working classes and will leave many questioning the party’s relevance, given its vote share shrank in Copeland. | But Nuttall’s defeat in Stoke will undermine his oft-stated ambition to replace Labour as the voice of the working classes and will leave many questioning the party’s relevance, given its vote share shrank in Copeland. |
| The Ukip leader, who is from Merseyside and admitted he had few links to the city in Staffordshire, had gambled that the seat was winnable on the basis of the constituency’s 69% leave vote in the June 2016 EU referendum. But he lost with 5,233 votes to Gareth Snell’s 7,853, leaving the seat vacated by Tristram Hunt in Labour hands. | The Ukip leader, who is from Merseyside and admitted he had few links to the city in Staffordshire, had gambled that the seat was winnable on the basis of the constituency’s 69% leave vote in the June 2016 EU referendum. But he lost with 5,233 votes to Gareth Snell’s 7,853, leaving the seat vacated by Tristram Hunt in Labour hands. |
| The Conservatives’ Jack Brereton came a close third with 5,154 votes. Turnout was 38% in a seat where both Labour and Ukip had admitted they were battling apathy. Stoke Central was the only seat in the country in the 2015 general election where less than half of the population voted. | |
| In his victory speech Snell said his win proved Stoke would not allow itself to be defined by the referendum result. “The city lazily dubbed by some as the capital of Brexit has once again proven to the world that we are so much more than that,” he said. | In his victory speech Snell said his win proved Stoke would not allow itself to be defined by the referendum result. “The city lazily dubbed by some as the capital of Brexit has once again proven to the world that we are so much more than that,” he said. |
| “So for those who have come to Stoke-on-Trent to sow hatred and division, and to try to turn us away from our friends and neighbours, I have one message: you have failed,” he said to cheers from Labour activists. | “So for those who have come to Stoke-on-Trent to sow hatred and division, and to try to turn us away from our friends and neighbours, I have one message: you have failed,” he said to cheers from Labour activists. |
| Corbyn struck a more sombre note in a statement after the results were declared, heralding the Stoke victory as a “decisive rejection” of Ukip’s values. “But our message was not enough to win through in Copeland,” he said. | Corbyn struck a more sombre note in a statement after the results were declared, heralding the Stoke victory as a “decisive rejection” of Ukip’s values. “But our message was not enough to win through in Copeland,” he said. |
| “In both campaigns, Labour listened to thousands of voters on the doorstep. Both constituencies, like so many in Britain, have been let down by the political establishment. To win power to rebuild and transform Britain, Labour will go further to reconnect with voters, and break with the failed political consensus.” | “In both campaigns, Labour listened to thousands of voters on the doorstep. Both constituencies, like so many in Britain, have been let down by the political establishment. To win power to rebuild and transform Britain, Labour will go further to reconnect with voters, and break with the failed political consensus.” |
| In Copeland, on a turnout of 51%, the Conservatives took 13,748 votes to Labour’s 11,601. The Liberal Democrat candidate, Rebecca Hanson, came third with 2,252 votes. | |
| Troughton left the count at Cleveland sports centre within minutes of the dramatic result being announced and without making a concession speech. She was heckled by a passerby who shouted “Sack Corbyn!” as she was rushed into a waiting car. | |
| Harrison, a political novice, said in her victory speech: “What has happened here tonight is a truly historic event. You’d have to go back more than a century to find an example of a governing party taking a seat from the opposition party in an election like this. | Harrison, a political novice, said in her victory speech: “What has happened here tonight is a truly historic event. You’d have to go back more than a century to find an example of a governing party taking a seat from the opposition party in an election like this. |
| “We’ve had Labour here for more than 80 years but it’s been very clear talking to people throughout this campaign that Jeremy Corbyn doesn’t represent them. | “We’ve had Labour here for more than 80 years but it’s been very clear talking to people throughout this campaign that Jeremy Corbyn doesn’t represent them. |
| “They want a party which is on the side of ordinary working people, which will respect the way we voted in the referendum, and which will build a country which represents everyone. That’s why they voted for me tonight.” | “They want a party which is on the side of ordinary working people, which will respect the way we voted in the referendum, and which will build a country which represents everyone. That’s why they voted for me tonight.” |
| Labour was battling to save a slim 2,564 majority left by Jamie Reed, an outspoken Corbyn critic who quit to take a job at the local Sellafield nuclear decommissioning plant. | Labour was battling to save a slim 2,564 majority left by Jamie Reed, an outspoken Corbyn critic who quit to take a job at the local Sellafield nuclear decommissioning plant. |
| Tory campaigners made much of an ITV Borders television interview by Corbyn at the end of January in which he failed four times to say he supported Moorside, a multibillion-pound nuclear plant planned to be built next to Sellafield. | Tory campaigners made much of an ITV Borders television interview by Corbyn at the end of January in which he failed four times to say he supported Moorside, a multibillion-pound nuclear plant planned to be built next to Sellafield. |
| Labour’s campaign focused heavily on Tory-backed plans to close the maternity unit at the new West Cumberland hospital, meaning the nearest service will be an hour-long drive away in Carlisle. | Labour’s campaign focused heavily on Tory-backed plans to close the maternity unit at the new West Cumberland hospital, meaning the nearest service will be an hour-long drive away in Carlisle. |
| Troughton, a borough councillor, retired doctor and St John ambulance driver who voted against Corbyn in the last leadership contest, consistently claimed the hospital was the “number one issue on the doorstep”. | Troughton, a borough councillor, retired doctor and St John ambulance driver who voted against Corbyn in the last leadership contest, consistently claimed the hospital was the “number one issue on the doorstep”. |
| Speaking after the result, Andrew Gwynne, the Labour MP for Denton and Reddish who ran Troughton’s campaign, conceded that the party “struggled to convince” voters that it backs nuclear power. | Speaking after the result, Andrew Gwynne, the Labour MP for Denton and Reddish who ran Troughton’s campaign, conceded that the party “struggled to convince” voters that it backs nuclear power. |
| Labour's Gillian Troughton leaves count without making concession speech. Heckled as she got in waiting car. #CopelandByElection pic.twitter.com/B6qFCbkHV1 | Labour's Gillian Troughton leaves count without making concession speech. Heckled as she got in waiting car. #CopelandByElection pic.twitter.com/B6qFCbkHV1 |
| For Nuttall, the stakes could not have been higher, with the very survival of Ukip at risk. Two of his party’s local chairs in Merseyside resigned this week over false assertions on his website about losing close friends in the Hillsborough disaster, and the party had already spent months in disarray after the departure of former leader Nigel Farage, replaced for just 18 days by Diane James, followed by another leadership election, won by Nuttall. | For Nuttall, the stakes could not have been higher, with the very survival of Ukip at risk. Two of his party’s local chairs in Merseyside resigned this week over false assertions on his website about losing close friends in the Hillsborough disaster, and the party had already spent months in disarray after the departure of former leader Nigel Farage, replaced for just 18 days by Diane James, followed by another leadership election, won by Nuttall. |
| At Ukip’s spring conference last week Farage was emphatic: “I don’t think anybody for one moment can underplay just how important, just how fundamental that byelection is for the futures of both the Labour party and indeed of Ukip too – it matters and it matters hugely,” he said. | At Ukip’s spring conference last week Farage was emphatic: “I don’t think anybody for one moment can underplay just how important, just how fundamental that byelection is for the futures of both the Labour party and indeed of Ukip too – it matters and it matters hugely,” he said. |
| Mobbed by cameras leaving the leisure centre and chased up and down the street in a frantic search for his car under police escort, Nuttall insisted he would not resign. “No, I’m only 12 weeks in, come on, give me a break,” he said cheerfully. | Mobbed by cameras leaving the leisure centre and chased up and down the street in a frantic search for his car under police escort, Nuttall insisted he would not resign. “No, I’m only 12 weeks in, come on, give me a break,” he said cheerfully. |
| “This seat was 72 on our target list, there is a lot more to come from us. We are not going anywhere, we move on. There are other issues beyond Brexit.” | “This seat was 72 on our target list, there is a lot more to come from us. We are not going anywhere, we move on. There are other issues beyond Brexit.” |
| Nuttall denied it was the controversy over his Hillsborough comments or home address in Stoke – his nomination papers declared his address as a house where he was not yet resident – that had cost him the seat. “I’ve apologised for that. We move forward.” | Nuttall denied it was the controversy over his Hillsborough comments or home address in Stoke – his nomination papers declared his address as a house where he was not yet resident – that had cost him the seat. “I’ve apologised for that. We move forward.” |