‘People want change’ says Starmer as Sunak suffers double election blow

Gen Kitchen won the Wellingborough by-election with the second-largest swing from the Conservatives to Labour since the Second World War (Joe Giddens/PA)

Rishi Sunak has suffered a double defeat at the Wellingborough and Kingswood by-elections, with Keir Starmer hailing the results as a sign the public wants change.

The twin blows will compound the British prime minister’s woes, coming the day after it was officially announced that the UK had entered a recession at the end of 2023, and mean the Conservatives have suffered more by-election defeats than in any single Parliament since the Second World War.