LABOUR has won the Kingswood by-election, overturning a Conservative majority of more than 11,000 votes.
Damien Egan won the poll with a majority of 2,501 over Tory candidate Sam Bromiley, who was defending the seat vacated by Chris Skidmore, who resigned last month over the government’s environmental policy.
Turnout for the by-election was 37.11%, with just over half the number of votes cast as in the 2019 general election.
The votes cast were:
Damien Egan (Labour) 11,176
Sam Bromiley (Conservative) 8,675
Rupert Lowe (Reform UK) 2,578
Lorraine Francis (Green) 1,450
Andrew Brown (Liberal Democrats) 861
Nicholas Wood (UKIP) 129
Labour received 44.9% of the vote, up from 33.4% in 2019, while the Conservative share fell from 56.2% at the last election to 34.9%, representing a swing from the Tories to Labour of 16.4%.
In his victory speech (pictured above), after thanking his husband, family and friends, Mr Egan said: “Most of all, though, I’d like to say thank you to the residents and people of Kingswood.
“Your honesty, your frankness, has helped keep my campaign rooted in the issues that are really impacting our community – the cost of living crisis, safety on our streets, and the NHS.
“Thank you for giving me your trust, and for allowing me to serve the community that I’m from. It’s a trust that I promise to repay, to show you that politics can be different, and it can make a difference.
“The work to give Kingswood its future back starts now.”
Reform UK’s predecessor the Brexit Party did not stand in the constituency in 2019, when the Liberal Democrats came third.