Voting is underway in Wakefield and Tiverton & Honiton for Thursday’s crucial by-elections, which could see Conservative Party candidates routed in both constituencies, a rare double-defeat in prospect not seen since the Second World War.
Sir Keir Starmer is hoping to reclaim the “red wall” West Yorkshire seat for Labour after it fell to the Tories in 2019 for the first time since 1932 while, in Devon, the Liberal Democrats are hoping to cause a major upset and have claimed the polls are “neck and neck”.
Both by-elections are being held in response to Tory MPs being forced to resign in disgrace.
In Wakefield, Imran Ahmad Khan stepped down after he was convicted of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy at a party in 2008.
In Tiverton & Honiton, Neil Parish bowed out after admitting to watching pornography on his phone in the House of Commons on two separate occasions, claiming that he had been browsing for agricultural equipment when he was mistakenly redirected to an X-rated streaming site.
Opposition candidates will be hoping that public disgust at both scandals will tap into wider discontent with Boris Johnson over scandals such as the Partygate affair, as well as greivances about the cost of living crisis.
The Tories have opted for Wakefield councillor and former teacher Nadeem Ahmed as their man to defend the seat after the fall of Khan, while Labour has nominated NHS worker Simon Lightwood as his challenger, who would require a 3.8 percentage point swing in his favour to overcome a Conservative majority of 3,358.
The other candidates in contention are: Akef Akbar (independent), Paul Bickerdike (Christian People’s Alliance), Mick Dodgson (Freedom Alliance), Sir Archibald Stanton Earl ’Eaton (Monster Raving Loony Party), Jayda Fransen (independent), Jordan Gaskell (Ukip), David Herdson (Yorkshire Party), Therese Hirst (English Democrat), Christopher Jones (Northern Independence), Jamie Needle (Liberal Democrats), Ashley Routh (Green), Ashlea Simon (Britain First) and Chris Walsh (Reform UK).
In Devon, the Liberal Democrats are hoping to turn the tide and win a constituency that has been blue even since it was created in 1997, a feat that would necessitate a 22.8 per cent swing in the party’s favour to eat into the 24,239 majority Mr Parish secured at the 2019 general election.
The party’s candidate is former army major Richard Foord, who is running against Tory Helen Hurford, an ex-headteacher and beauty salon owner, for the right to replace Mr Parish, with Labour’s Liz Pole also challenging.
The remaining candidates are: Jordan Donoghue-Morgan (Heritage Party), Andy Foan (Reform UK), Frankie Rufolo (For Britain Movement), Ben Walker (Ukip) and Gill Westcott (Green).
Polling stations opened in both constituencies at 7am on Thursday morning and will remain so until 10pm, after which ballot papers will be counted, with the results expected between 4am and 6am on Friday morning.
