Tories by-election losses point to a 'historic result' in Harrogate and Knaresborough in general election claim Lib Dems

A bruising set of results for the Conservative Party saw it lose large majorities to Labour in Selby and Ainsty and the Lib Dems in Somerton and Frome, but narrowly hold on to their Uxbridge and South Ruislip seat.

Tom Gordon, Liberal Democrat MP candidate for Harrogate & Knaresborough, said his party’s win in Somerset showed what he said would be a “historic victory” was possible here as well.

"The Lib Dems overturned a massive Conservative majority of 19,000 in Somerton and Frome with a swing of 29%,” said Mr Gordon.

"A swing just a fraction of the size to that seen last night in Somerset would see the Liberal Democrats gain Harrogate and Knaresborough from the Conservative Party at the next General Election.”

But, after the Tories narrowly held onto the London seat of Uxbridge and South Ruislip previously won by Boris Johnson, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the next general election was "not a done deal".

“Westminster’s been acting like the next election is a done deal,” said the Prime Minister.

“The Labour Party has been acting like it’s a done deal.

"The people of Uxbridge just told all of them that it’s not.”

Labour’s success in the North Yorkshire seat of Selby and Ainsty where it overturned a huge Tory majority of 20,137 saw 25-year-old Keir Mather becoming the youngest MP in the House of Commons with 45.96% of votes cast.

For the Conservative Party, Claire Holmes won 34.34% of the votes.

Harrogate Green Party’s Arnold Warneken won 5.13%.

For the Lib Dems, Matt Walker, who represents the Knaresborough West division as a councillor on North Yorkshire Council, received 3.32%.

Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Andrew Jones, who has a majority of 9,675 votes and has won the last four elections in the constituency, said there was no evidence the Lib Dems’ success in Somerset could – or would – be replicated in the Harrogate district or North Yorkshire.

“Clearly it was not a great result for the Conservatives,” said Mr Jones.

"There were local and national factors at play and it was always going to be a challenge.

"The Liberal Democrats point to their win in Somerton and Frome as evidence of their success and it would be churlish to say that the result – as with the Conservative result in Uxbridge – was anything other than a good one.

“But Frome is 250 miles away. Large parts of the Selby constituency are in the Harrogate district.

"In that constituency the Liberal Democrat vote tanked, falling by more than five per cent.

"They were beaten into sixth place by the Green Party, the Yorkshire Party and the Reform Party.

"Each candidate has to deposit £500 with the local authority before they can stand.

"The deposit is returned if they receive over 5 per cent of the votes cast.

“It is rare for one of the three major parties to lose their deposit but the Liberal Democrats lost theirs in Selby.

"They weren’t even close to retaining it.

“They point to a constituency hundreds of miles away and try and make comparisons here.

"But when votes were cast in North Yorkshire, here in the Harrogate district, people weren’t supporting the Liberal Democrats.

"No amount of spin can change that fact.”

Professor Sir John Curtice, professor of politics at the University of Strathclyde, said the combined results of last week’s three by-elections showed evidence of tactical voting by voters weary of the Tory Government.

He added the average fall in support for the Conservatives across the three by-elections was 21 points.