Brown passes first test in by-elections

ITV News

20 July 2007



Labour has held on to two safe seats in the first by-elections since Gordon Brown became Prime Minister, but with a reduced majority.

The results will be a bitter blow for the Tories who had fought particularly hard in Ealing Southall, where their candidate Tony Lit was listed on the ballot paper as standing for 'David Cameron's Conservatives'.

The Tory leader had been hoping to restore momentum to his challenge for power after rows over grammar schools and Labour's "Brown bounce" in the polls.

But they suffered a setback when it emerged that Mr Lit had donated money to Labour and been photographed with Tony Blair just days before his selection.

Victorious Ealing Southall Labour candidate Virendra Sharma made a pointed attack on the high-profile Tory campaign, saying "it is policies that win elections, not slick PR".

But the results were good news for Liberal Democrat leader Sir Menzies Campbell, who saw his party take second place in both the west London constituency of Ealing Southall and Tony Blair's old seat in Sedgefield, county Durham.

Lib Dem candidate Greg Stone almost doubled his party's share of the vote to overtake the Conservatives in Sedgefield, while in Ealing Southall Tories also trailed in third in a seat which David Cameron visited five times during the campaign.

Mr Sharma, who polled 15,188 in Ealing Southall, said: "This is a great result for our new Prime Minister Gordon Brown and it is a humiliating rebuke from Britain's most diverse constituency to David Cameron's Conservatives.

"David Cameron staked his reputation on this by-election and the people of Southall and Ealing have given their verdict tonight. We don't trust the Tories to represent us. They don't stand for us."

Labour deputy leader Harriet Harman said she was "delighted" by both results, which had put "a new spring in the step of Labour supporters and Labour Party members".

Liberal Democrat Nigel Bakhai won the fiercely-fought battle for second place in Ealing Southall with 10,118 votes, increasing his share of the vote by just over 3 per cent. Mr Lit increased his share by less than 1 per cent, taking 8,230 votes.

Labour's former chief whip Hilary Armstrong said the Sedgefield result showed that "the public have given their endorsement to Gordon Brown's Government".

But victorious candidate Phil Wilson's 45 per cent share of the vote was 14 per cent down on Mr Blair's haul in the 2005 General Election.

Most of the benefit from the swing away from Labour was felt by the Lib Dems and the British National Party, which held onto its deposit with almost 9 per cent of the vote.

Sir Menzies described the results as "a blow to Brown and a disaster for David Cameron".