Voters go to polls in three by-elections as Labour eyes Boris Johnson’s old seat – live

There are 13 candidates in total vying to replace Nigel Adams in Selby and Ainsty.

Mr Adams resigned immediately last month after being snubbed for a peerage. He had previously said he would stand down at the next election.

The next national poll must take place by January 2025 but many analysts expect it to be called next year, possibly in the spring or autumn.

Lucy Leeson has a full list of the runners and riders in Selby:

Tobias Ellwood, the MP for Bournemouth East, finds himself in hot water after praising the Taliban for  “vastly improving” Afghanistan.

His comments came as women in the South Asian country continue to have their freedoms curtailed by the repressive regime in Kabul.

The Taliban retook control of Afghanistan in August 2021 when Western countries withdrew their troops following the two-decades-long US-led occupation.

Mr Ellwood, chair of the Commons defence committee, has since apologised for the comments, saying he “got it wrong”.

But his fellow committee members are planning to remove him as their chair. Archie Mitchell reports:

Sir Tom Scholar was sacked as permanent secretary at the Treasury within days of Ms Truss becoming prime minister as part of her crusade against “Treasury orthodoxy” – freeing her up to enact the ill-fated policies.

And the Treasury’s annual report reveals Sir Tom received a severance payment of £335,000 for loss of office, as well as £122,000 in annual leave adjustments and compensation in lieu of notice.

Archie Mitchell reports:

BBC journalists are launching a fresh strike in a dispute over cuts to local radio that will affect the corporation’s coverage of today’s by-elections,

Members of the National Union of Journalists will walk out at 11am for 24 hours, with picket lines mounted outside local radio stations across England.

The union said it is receiving huge public support for its campaign.

Paul Siegert, NUJ national broadcasting organiser, said: “This strike action will again have a huge impact on BBC Local output, with many stations and programmes expected to be off air.

“NUJ members would much rather be working in newsrooms on Thursday and Friday, but the BBC’s damaging plans for job cuts, slashing local radio and changing ways of working remain deeply unpopular.

“We believe there are ways to protect and promote digital investment without cutting much-loved and valued local radio content.

“With an election around the corner, holding local politicians to account is more important than ever.

“Let’s protect and promote BBC Local, not eviscerate it.”

Labour’s candidate in Uxbridge said “enough is enough” as he urged people to reject the Tories and vote for him as polls opened in the constituency earlier.

“Enough is enough,” Mr Beales said in a tweet with a video showing him meeting with locals in the area.

“Vote for change and vote Labour.”

Labour hopes to snatch Uxbridge and South Ruislip, which was Boris Johnson’s seat until he quit, and Selby and Ainsty – vacated by his ally Nigel Adams’ resignation.

Mr Beales will have to overturn a 7,000 majority if he is to win the seat for his party.

Will this Tory town change its colours after Boris Johnson’s dramatic departure from the Commons? Maryam Zakir-Hussain visits Uxbridge ahead of Thursday’s crunch by-election

Full story:

Somerton and Frome. Conservative majority: 19,213

The Somerton and Frome byelection was sparked by the resignation of David Warburton, who quit after being accused of sexual harassment, which he denies, and admitting to taking cocaine.

The Liberal Democrats are tipped to win the Somerset seat, which has been a Conservative stronghold – returning a Tory MP every year since 2010.

The Tories held it from 1983 to 1997 and the Lib Dems from 1997 until 2015, when David Warburton won it back for the Conservatives.

Mr Warburton had a majority of 19,213 at the 2019 election and took nearly 56 per cent of the vote, with the Lib Dems second on just over 26 per cent and Labour third on 13 per cent.

The Lib Dems need a swing in the share of the vote of 14.9 percentage points to come first at the by-election: the equivalent of a net change of 15 in every 100 people switching sides since 2019.

If a general election were held tomorrow , EC estimates that the Conservatives would hold the seat with 34.1 per cent with Labour in second on 28.2 per cent and Lib Dems on 23.1 per cent.

Selby and Ainsty. Conservative majority: 20,137

Labour, which has held a double-digit poll lead over the Tories for months, is also tipped to win in the North Yorkshire constituency of Selby and Ainsty, which has also returned a Conservative MP at every election since the seat was created in 2010.

The byelection was triggered after Mr Adams, an ally of Mr Johnson, resigned after being denied a peerage.

But the MP, who previously said he would stand down at the next general election, insisted that his decision to quit had nothing to do with his elevation to the House of Lords being blocked.

Mr Adam, at the 2019 general election, secured 33,995 (60.3 per cent) of the votes, with Labour candidate Malik Rofidi coming second on 13,858 (24.6 per cent) and Lib Dem candidate Katharine Macy third on 4,842 (3.4 per cent)

If a general election were held tomorrow EC estimates that Labour would win the seat with 41.5 per cent of the vote, with the Conservatives in second 35.2 per cent and the Lib Dems third on 8 per cent.

A JL Partners poll also published earlier in July predicted Labour had a 16 point lead over the Conservatives with 41 per cent of the vote.

The survey predicted Conservative support has more than halved, dropping 31 per cent  to 29 per cent and the Lib Dems on 6 per cent.

Uxbridge and South Ruislip. Conservative majority: 7,210

Labour has high hopes of gaining Boris Johnson’s old seat of Uxbridge and South Ruislip on the outer edge of west London after the incumbent quit in protest at a Commons committee that found he misled MPs over the Partygate scandal.

The Conservative Party has won the seat at every election since it was created in 2010 and the former prime minister won more than half of the vote share in 2019, 2017 and 2015.

At the 2019 general election, Mr Johnson won 25,351 (52.6 per cent) votes, with Labour’s candidate Ali Milani coming in second with 18,141 (37.6 per cent) votes. Liberal Democrat candidate Joanne Humphreys came third on 3,026 (6.3 per cent).

According to Electoral Calculus, the political forecasting website, Labour would win Uxbridge and South Ruislip if a general election were held tomorrow.

Today’s by-elections are taking place in three very different parts of the country – in Greater London, North Yorkshire and Somerset.

Uxbridge and Ruislip is on the outer edge of the commuter belt in west London, while Selby and Ainsty is a largely rural seat.

Somerton and Frome in Somerset, meanwhile, is made up of town sand villages and has a mixed economy.

Here’s where each constituency is on the map: