RISHI Sunak insisted Sir Keir Starmer becoming PM was “not a done deal” — after the Tories defended Boris Johnson’s old seat thanks to a green policies backlash.
There were heavy losses for the Government in North Yorkshire and Somerset but an unexpected victory in Uxbridge, West London, gave the embattled Prime Minister a pre-summer boost.
Rishi Sunak with Tory MP Steve Tuckwell after he won the Uxbridge and South Ruislip by-election
Sir Keir Starmer with Angela Rayner and newly elected Labour MP Keir Mather
Last night, Tory MPs urged No10 to row back on plans such as the 2030 petrol car ban to try to replicate their London win across the country at next year’s General Election.
Meanwhile, Labour descended into in-fighting, blaming London mayor Sadiq Khan for the voter backlash against his green Ultra Low Emission Zone in the capital.
Labour deputy Angela Rayner yesterday admitted “the decision in Uxbridge was related to Ulez”.
And Shadow Attorney General Emily Thornberry said Mr Khan should look again at the Ulez expansion.
She said: “If you’re going to be a good politician, you need to listen to the public.”
A £12.50 daily charge applies to vehicles in the central Ulez zone that do not meet modern emission standards. It is expanding to all London boroughs on August 29.
Ex-Business Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg led the charge for the Tories to ditch Net Zero taxes, after a groundswell of anger at the expansion of the Ulez levy.
He warned that “high-cost green policies are not popular” as “all these charges hit the least well-off”.
In Uxbridge yesterday morning, Mr Sunak said: “By-elections, midterms for an incumbent government, are always difficult.
“Westminster has been acting like the next election is a done deal. The Labour Party’s been acting like it’s a done deal. The people of Uxbridge just told all of them that it’s not.
“No one expected us to win here. But when confronted with the actual reality of the Labour Party — when there’s an actual choice on a matter of substance at stake — people vote Conservative.”
At a greasy spoon in the constituency, the PM vowed to “stick to our plan and deliver for people”.
But there was pain elsewhere for Mr Sunak, as Labour managed a 24-point swing with 25-year-old Keir Mather against the Tories to win Selby and Ainsty, North Yorks.
And in Somerton and Frome, Somerset, the Lib Dems’ Sarah Dyke managed a 29-point swing to win the former constituency of disgraced ex-MP David Warburton.
Polling guru Sir John Curtice yesterday said the Tories remain in “deep electoral trouble”.
Across the three by-elections, the Conservative vote plummeted 21 points, a figure that reflects surveys on the national mood.
Sir John said: “These three by-elections are consistent with the message of the opinion polls that the Conservatives are a long way behind.”
But ex-Tory Chancellor George Osborne said despite “dire results” in Selby and Somerton, “winning Uxbridge has given the Tories something very precious they didn’t have yesterday: Hope”.
Conservative chairman Greg Hands said: “There’ll be real questions in Labour headquarters today about not gaining Uxbridge.”
Tory Steve Tuckwell, who admitted he was not expected to win, said the No1 message on doorsteps was “absolute opposition to expansion of Ulez”.
In the South West, an overjoyed Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey declared: “The people of Somerton and Frome have spoken for the rest of the country.”
Newly elected Liberal Democrat MP Sarah Dyke with party leader Sir Ed Davey in Frome, Somerset
Conservative MP Steve Tuckwell after winning the Uxbridge and South Ruislip by-election
Labour candidate Keir Mather celebrates winning the Selby and Ainsty by-election
