Kingswood Byelection 2024

[steveseagull]

Chris Skidmore gone, says he wants to leave as an MP ASAP

 

[steveseagull]

General election 2019: Kingswood[9]

Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Chris Skidmore	27,712	56.2	+1.3
	Labour	Nicola Bowden-Jones	16,492	33.4	-6.1
	Liberal Democrats	Dine Romero	3,421	6.9	+3.3
	Green	Joseph Evans	1,200	2.4	+0.4
	Animal Welfare	Angelika Cowell	489	1.0	New
Majority	11,220	22.8	+7.4
Turnout	49,314	71.5	+1.3
Registered electors	68,972
	Conservative hold	Swing	+3.7

 

[Silas Loom]

Good for Skidmore. Looks like a clear Labour win.

 

[stavros]

Ah, I'd read the headline that he was stepping down at the General Election, but this is better.

Even better would be to resign the whip and stay as an independent, weaken Sunak still further.

 

[PR1Berske]

Quick on the draw with this one steveseagull !

From the Telegraph:

Rishi Sunak faces another by-election after former energy minister Chris Skidmore announced he would be quitting Parliament “as soon as possible.”

Mr Skidmore who described Rishi Sunak’s relaxation of net zero targets as “the greatest mistake of his premiership” said he could no longer support a Government committed to a course of action “I know is wrong and will cause future harm.”

The MP, who signed next zero into law as Theresa May’s energy minister, said he could also not support the legislation before Parliament next week allowing new oil and gas licences.

His decision sets up a by election in Kingswood in south Gloucestershire, where he had a majority of 11,220.

It will be the second by-election of the New Year following a recall petition unseating MP Peter Bone in his Wellingborough after he was found guilty of bullying and sexual misconduct.

 

[PR1Berske]

From the VoteUK website

Assuming this happens, it gives the two main parties a bit of a headache over candidate selection. Kingswood is effectively abolished by the boundary changes. 47.3% of it goes to North East Somerset and Hanham, which is likely to be the seat fought by Jacob Rees-Mogg (55.4% of the new seat comes from North East Somerset, by far the largest element). Jacob Rees-Mogg is obviously not going to be the candidate at the byelection.

The next largest section, 35.8%, goes to the new Bristol North East constituency. Labour has a candidate there, but it's the current Mayor of Lewisham Damian Egan. He could resign as Mayor and stand in this byelection but that would be a risky strategy.

There are two smaller elements. 16.5% goes to Filton and Bradley Stoke, where the Conservatives also have a sitting MP and there is a Labour candidate in place (Claire Hazelgrove, who introduced Keir Starmer at his speech yesterday), but it is a very small part of the new seat. A small element, 0.5%, goes to Thornbury and Yate.

 

[StoneRoad]

I think this one could get quite "interesting" ...

anyone got the popcorn franchise ?

 

[quiet guy]

Is JRM standing down to spend more time with his Nanny offshore wealth schemes?

 

[PR1Berske]

Current boundaries (and changes as the seat is being abolished)

 

[PR1Berske]

 

[Spandex]

I think this one could get quite "interesting" ...

 

[PR1Berske]

Ken Comley, a retired tour operator, stopped Egan and asked him to sort out a local graveyard. “But I won’t be voting for him,” Comley said. “I’ll always vote Conservative because Mrs Thatcher gave us the chance to buy shares.”

‘Not a practice run’: Labour braves the cold before Kingswood byelection

Gloucestershire constituency will be abolished at general election, but voters say change is still needed

www.theguardian.com

 

[BusLanes]

Don't think the LDs will make a run at this. They just don't have the resources if they think a GE might be May onwards.

They'll be focused on local elections where they have targets and defences.

 

[BusLanes]

I say this knowing little or nothing about Kingswood or greater Bristol

 

[MickiQ]

The key question is whether this seat being abolished and the lines being redrawn increases the chance of getting rid of Mogg The Merciless.

 

[StoneRoad]

Not quite my own backyard, but the the general area where I was brought up.
In my youth, it was very mixed between forelock-tugging yokels, the comparatively well-off and the almost revolutionaries ...
But, been away so long that I've no idea what it is like now.

 

[PR1Berske]

Statement of Persons Nominated

Link: Kingswood by-election 2024 | BETA - South Gloucestershire Council

Sam BROMILEY (The Conservative Party Candidate)
Andrew BROWN (Liberal Democrats)
Damian EGAN (Labour Party)
Lorraine FRANCIS (Green Party)
Rupert LOWE (Reform UK)
Nicholas WOOD (UKIP - People not Politics)

 

[PR1Berske]

Polling stations have opened in this byelection.

 

[tim]

The returning officer must be miffed at not getting to be a star ringmaster, as these candidates seem so boring and uncontroversial in comparison with those standing in Rochdale and Wellingborough.

 

[mojo pixy]

I used to live in Kingswood (irrelevant but means I have a soft spot for the place!)

It's a bit like Basildon in that it's changed MP since 1974 in line with the national govt, the one exception being 1992 when it went Labour 5 years before the rest of the country did in '97.

What I mean is it could be a good litmus test for the upcoming general election. Chris Skidmore was known for being a good constituency MP but the new tory being an unknown quantity means that won't count this time. And with the fucking state of this government, I don't think Kingswood is true blue enough to elect a conservative regardless of that.

Anyway, one way or another I'm looking forward to hearing the result...

 

[GarveyLives]

The returning officer must be miffed at not getting to be a star ringmaster, as these candidates seem so boring and uncontroversial in comparison with those standing in Rochdale and Wellingborough.

As explained above, some of the electors are likely to end up with The Right Honourable Sir Jacob William Rees-Mogg as their member of parliament after the next general election:

Kingswood locals care about everything but a ‘meaningless’ by-election

 

[PR1Berske]

The local council is currently tweeting from the count. Here's their first photo, showing the highly technical manner in which our elections are counted.

 

[PR1Berske]

(Yes, those coloured plastic boxes are an important part of this, each party's bundle of votes will be placed in their respective colours as the night progresses)

 

[Elpenor]

The local council is currently tweeting from the count. Here's their first photo, showing the highly technical manner in which our elections are counted.

View attachment 412352

Hmm a handy bin to get rid of any unwanted votes

 

[cupid_stunt]

37.1% turnout, higher than expected.

 

[Bingoman]

37.1% turnout, higher than expected.

Who does that favour?

 

[cupid_stunt]

Who does that favour?

The suggestion is Labour, and also Reform, basically people out to give the Tories a kicking.

 

[Bingoman]

The suggestion is Labour, and also Reform, basically people out to give the Tories a kicking.

Let's hope so

 

[cupid_stunt]

Results are in:

Labour - 11,176
Tories - 8,675
Reform - 2,578
Greens - 1,450
LDs - 861
UKIP - 129

 

[belboid]

that's a 16% swing, I think. 10% for Reform, which will delude them into thinking they are kicking arse - especially as them + the tories would have just won