Labour has held on to their seat in West Lancashire after a by-election victory which saw Ashley Dalton become the country’s newest MP. Ms Dalton secured a majority of 8,321 over Conservative candidate Mike Prendergast, with a 10.52% swing from the Tories to Labour.
In her victory speech, she said the people of her constituency have spoken on “behalf of the country” and sent a message to the Conservative government that they “do not have confidence in them to governor the prime minister to lead.” She added that these are “testing times for our country” with the cost of living crisis, as she told the Conservatives to “move out of the way and let Labour take over”.
The result marked the third by-election victory for Labour in recent months. While veteran MP Rosie Cooper’s majority at the 2019 snap general election was 8,336, that was over 36% of the vote, compared with just over 25% this time around. It was the first time the Tory vote has dipped below 30% since the 1997 general election, which Tony Blair’s Labour party won by a landslide.
