John Curtice: By-election results leave Tories with mountain to climb [View all]

This was another disappointing election night for the Conservatives, with two by-election defeats and two gains for Labour.

Not only did they lose Kingswood, where Labour needed a relatively modest 11-point swing. They also lost Wellingborough, where an 18-point swing was required for the seat to change hands.

In the event, the swing in Kingswood was 16.4%. But that was overshadowed by the result in Wellingborough where the swing was 28.5% - the second highest swing from Conservative to Labour in any post-war by-election.

Big though these swings were, they were not a major surprise. In the second half of last year, the Conservatives lost three seats to Labour thanks in each case to swings of more than 20%.

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https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-68305798