2023 Tamworth by-election

2023 Tamworth by-election

←  2019 19 October 2023 2024  →
Tamworth constituency
Turnout	35.9% (28.4 pp)
First party Second party Third party   Ref Candidate Sarah Edwards Andrew Cooper Ian Cooper Party Labour Conservative Reform UK Popular vote 11,719 10,403 1,376 Percentage 45.8% 40.7% 5.4% Swing 22.1 pp 25.6 pp New
Boundary of the Tamworth constituency in Staffordshire
MP before election Chris Pincher Independent Elected MP Sarah Edwards Labour

The 2023 Tamworth by-election was held on 19 October 2023 ^[1] for the UK parliamentary constituency of Tamworth, due to the resignation of former Conservative MP Chris Pincher. ^[2] Pincher had announced his resignation following a sexual misconduct scandal, and his recommended suspension from the House of Commons for eight weeks. ^[3] The Tamworth by-election was held on the same day as the 2023 Mid Bedfordshire by-election.

Sarah Edwards, the Labour candidate, won the Tamworth seat with a 23.9% swing, the second-biggest from Conservative to Labour since the 1945 national election. ^[4] The turnout of the by-election was 35.9%. ^[5]

Background

Chris Pincher resignation

Main article: Chris Pincher scandal

Chris Pincher, a former Deputy Chief Whip, was involved in a controversy following allegations of sexual misconduct. Pincher resigned as Deputy Chief Whip on 30 June 2022, and was suspended as a Conservative MP following allegations that he had sexually assaulted two men. Further allegations were made in July, which antedated his appointment by former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who originally denied knowledge of the allegations. It was later revealed Johnson had been aware, and many cited this scandal as the final straw that led to Johnson's resignation. ^{[6] [7] [8]}

The Standards Committee upheld the allegations of sexual assault in July and recommended an eight-week suspension from the Commons. Pincher appealed the decision, ^[9] but lost the appeal. ^[10] The eight-week suspension would have been enough to trigger a recall petition, but Pincher resigned before the House could vote on the recommended suspension. ^[11]

Constituency

Main article: Tamworth (UK Parliament constituency)

The Tamworth constituency consists of the southeastern corner of Staffordshire, including the towns of Fazeley and Tamworth. It was previously considered to be a bellwether constituency, but had become a Conservative safe seat in recent years, with a majority of nearly 20,000 in the 2019 election. During the New Labour years of 1997 to 2010, Brian Jenkins served as the constituency's MP. ^[12] The constituency voted 66% for leave in the 2016 EU membership referendum. ^[13] The constituency last had a by-election in 1996, when it was known as South East Staffordshire. Jenkins, the Labour candidate, took the seat from the Conservatives. ^[14]

Candidates

On 18 June 2023, prior to Pincher's resignation, Conservative MP Eddie Hughes had been selected as the candidate for Tamworth at the 2024 general election. ^[15] Hughes is currently the MP for the nearby Walsall North constituency, which will be abolished at the 2024 general election under the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies. Had Hughes stood and won the by-election, this would have triggered another by-election by means of his vacating the seat for Walsall North. However, Hughes ruled out contesting the by-election on 7 September. ^{[16] [17]}

Conservative candidate Andrew Cooper with Rishi Sunak, during the campaign.

The Conservatives selected Andrew Cooper, a councillor in Tamworth since 2021, as their candidate. ^{[18] [19]} Cooper was raised on a council estate in Tamworth and served in the Army. ^[20] Before the election it was reported that he had shared an offensive tweet about families in poverty. ^[21] At the count he left the stage hurriedly during the winning candidate's speech. ^{[22] [23]}

On 23 July, Labour selected Sarah Edwards to be their candidate. ^[24] She is a Unite union official from Moseley, Birmingham, who has worked for the charity Oxfam. ^[25]

Sunny Virk, a local barrister and mediator, was the Liberal Democrat candidate. ^[26] He would later contest the 2024 West Midlands mayoral election, coming last. Ian Cooper is the Reform UK candidate. ^[26] Former university lecturer Dr. Sue Howarth stood for the Green Party. ^[26] Robert Bilcliff stood for the UK Independence Party. He was a member of Tamworth Borough Council for Stonydelph from 2016 to 2021. ^[27] Ashlea Simon, the chair of Britain First, stood for that party. ^[28]

Local teacher Richard Kingstone, a former Mayor of Tamworth, announced his intention to stand as an independent, but later made a statement announcing he would no longer be standing due to personal circumstances. ^[29]

Result

Bar chart of the election result.

2023 Tamworth by-election ^[30]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Sarah Edwards	11,719	45.8	+22.1
	Conservative	Andrew Cooper	10,403	40.7	–25.6
	Reform UK	Ian Cooper	1,373	5.4	New
	Britain First	Ashlea Simon	580	2.3	New
	UKIP	Robert Bilcliff	436	1.7	–0.1
	Green	Sue Howarth	417	1.6	–0.4
	Liberal Democrats	Sunny Virk	417	1.6	–3.7
	Monster Raving Loony	Howling Laud Hope	155	0.6	New
	No description	Peter Longman	86	0.3	New
Majority			1,316	5.1	N/A
Turnout			25,586	35.9	–28.4
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	+23.9

A similar substantial swing, resulting in a Labour gain from the Conservatives, was seen in the concurrent Mid Bedfordshire by-election. Psephologist John Curtice determined these results to be "one of worst nights any government has endured". ^[31]

Parties to the right of the Conservatives (Reform UK, Britain First and UKIP) received a total combined vote of 9.4%, although Politics.co.uk suggested that this was due to the low turnout. ^[32]

Previous result

General election 2019: Tamworth ^[33]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Chris Pincher	30,542	66.3	5.3
	Labour Co-op	Chris Bain	10,908	23.7	11.1
	Liberal Democrats	Rob Wheway	2,426	5.3	1.1
	Green	Andrew Tilley	935	2.0	New
	UKIP	Robert Bilcliff	814	1.8	New
	Independent	John Wright	431	0.9	New
Majority			19,634	42.6	16.4
Turnout			46,056	64.3	1.8
	Conservative hold		Swing	8.2

See also

• 2023 Mid Bedfordshire by-election, held on the same day.
• 1996 South East Staffordshire by-election, a by-election in the predecessor constituency.

References

1. "Elections 2023". Tamworth Borough Council. Tamworth Borough Council. Retrieved 13 September 2023. UK Parliamentary By-Election – Thursday 19 October 2023
2. "MP Chris Pincher resigns over groping suspension". BBC News. 7 September 2023. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
3. Allegretti, Aubrey (4 September 2023). "MP Chris Pincher loses appeal against eight-week suspension". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 7 September 2023.
4. "Labour wins Tamworth by-election with second-biggest swing since 1945". Sky News. 20 October 2023. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
5. Morton, Becky (20 October 2023). "Labour overturns huge majorities to inflict two by-election defeats on Tories". BBC News. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
6. Murray, Jessica (25 July 2022). "'He needs to resign': Chris Pincher's constituents on their disgraced MP". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 7 September 2023.
7. Wells, Ione (8 July 2022). "How I showed that Boris Johnson knew about Chris Pincher – and why the truth brought him down". inews.co.uk. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
8. Buchan, Lizzy (21 October 2022). "All worst Boris Johnson scandals that helped oust him - in case Tories forget". mirror. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
9. "Chris Pincher appeals against proposed eight-week Commons suspension". The Guardian. PA Media. 20 July 2023. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 7 September 2023.
10. "Chris Pincher appeal against suspension dismissed by parliament watchdog". Sky News. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
11. "Tory MP Chris Pincher resigns after suspension from Commons over groping allegations". Sky News. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
12. "Brian Jenkins, former MP, Tamworth". TheyWorkForYou. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
13. "Seat Details - Tamworth". www.electoralcalculus.co.uk. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
14. Ibrahim, Youssef M. (13 April 1996). "Labor Deals Major's Tories A New Blow In Local Vote". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 11 September 2023.
15. Thandi, Gurdip (19 June 2023). "MP to contest Tamworth at next election". BirminghamLive. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
16. "MP Chris Pincher quits after losing groping appeal". BBC News. 7 September 2023. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
17. Gutteridge, Nick (7 September 2023). "Tories scramble for by-election candidate after Chris Pincher resigns". The Telegraph. ISSN   0307-1235 . Retrieved 28 November 2023.
18. "Conservatives pick by-election candidate in Tamworth". BBC News. 13 September 2023. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
19. "Councillor details - Councillor Andrew Cooper". democracy.tamworth.gov.uk. 7 October 2023. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
20. "Tamworth by-election 2023: The candidates standing". BBC News. 20 September 2023. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
21. Adu, Aletha (18 October 2023). "Tory candidate shared post using foul language towards struggling parents". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
22. "Moment Tory candidate Andrew Cooper storms off after losing Tamworth by-election". The Independent. 20 October 2023. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
23. Barton, Alex (20 October 2023). "Watch: Tory candidate bolts from Tamworth by-election while winner gives victory speech". The Telegraph. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
24. "Labour candidate for by-election confirmed". BBC News. 14 September 2023. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
25. Belger, Tom (8 September 2023). "Roundup: Winning Tamworth, new PLP sec, donors flood in but councils run dry". LabourList . Retrieved 11 September 2023.
26. "Tamworth by-election: Who is standing to replace Chris Pincher as MP?". ITV News . 15 September 2023. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
27. Ashdown, Kerry (5 May 2021). "All the candidates standing in Tamworth's three elections". burtonmail. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
28. Sommerlad, Nick (19 June 2022). "Far-right Britain First running in by-election near murdered MP's constituency". mirror. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
29. Live, Lichfield (23 September 2023). "Potential candidate confirms he has dropped out of the by-election race". Lichfield Live®. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
30. "STATEMENT OF PERSONS NOMINATED, NOTICE OF POLL & SITUATION OF POLLING STATIONS" (PDF). Tamworth Borough Council. 22 September 2023. Retrieved 22 September 2023.
31. "Tamworth and Mid Bedfordshire by-elections 'one of worst nights any government has endured'". BBC News. 20 October 2023. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
32. "Reform UK, UKIP and Britain First win a combined vote of 9.4 per cent in low-turnout Tamworth by-election". Politics.co.uk. 20 October 2023. Retrieved 26 October 2023.
33. "Tamworth Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 30 November 2019.