Representatives from both the Labour and Conservative parties have acknowledged that they face a tough challenge in the upcoming by-election in Tamworth. Voters in the town will go to the polls on October 19th, with the Conservatives currently holding a majority of more than 19,600. However, polls suggest that the national swing towards Labour means that the party has a chance of overturning the Tory majority. Labour has historically performed well in Tamworth – in 1996, the party won a by-election that preceded its landslide general election victory the following year.
James Morris MP, who represents the Conservative Party in the town, said that the by-election would be a “tight fight”. However, he suggested that improving economic news could help his party’s chances. Meanwhile, Warwick and Leamington’s Labour representative Matt Western said that the Conservatives would face criticism if they failed to hold the seat. He added that even a small swing towards Labour would be significant, given the size of the Conservative majority.
The Liberal Democrats won only 5.3% of the vote in the last Tamworth election in 2019, meaning that they are unlikely to be serious contenders for the seat. Ellie Chowns, the Green Party’s candidate for North Herefordshire, indicated that the by-election could give voters an opportunity to signal their dissatisfaction with the ruling government. She said that in her area, there was “an enormous amount of Conservative disaffection” and some voters were happy to have Green representatives come to their doors.
In the election two years ago, the Tories took over two-thirds of the vote, while Labour was in a distant second place with 23.7%. The main issues of concern to Tamworth residents appear to be roads, crime, and anti-social behaviour
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