CONSERVATIVE MORALE was lifted yesterday after the party landed an important blow against the Labour party by seizing the constituency of Norwich North for the first time since 1997.
Chloe Smith secured a big majority of more than 7,300 votes in a byelection triggered by the resignation of Labour MP Ian Gibson last month after revelations that he claimed almost £80,000 (€92,000) in second-home expenses on a London flat, which he later sold cheaply to his daughter.
Ms Smith’s victory gives fresh momentum to Tory leader David Cameron, who is increasingly confident of victory in a general election expected next year.
The Conservatives had put vast amounts of energy into the battle, ordering MPs of all ranks to campaign in Norwich. The Labour candidate, who came second, had been ill with swine flu this week.
In his victory speech, Mr Cameron accused prime minister Gordon Brown of lacking “courage” for not visiting Norwich in the run-up to the byelection.
The swing from Labour to the Conservatives was 16.5 per cent.
Ben Bradshaw, culture secretary, said the result was “disappointing” but had to be understood in the context of the economic downturn, the expenses scandal and the controversy over whether Mr Gibson should have been punished by the Labour authorities over his expenses.
“It was always going to be a tough one for us,” he said.
Norwich North is a bellwether for the national political landscape, having been held by the Tories from 1983 to 1997 during their last period in government.
But the byelection had lacked the fizz of recent contests, with Norwich voters dismayed over the expenses scandal and largely unmoved by any national political debates.
The 27-year-old Ms Smith becomes the youngest member of the House of Commons, although boundary changes may make it harder for her to retain the seat in a general election.
Labour had let it be known it was resigned to defeat.
“Governments lose byelections,” said one party source on Thursday night.
“We are predicting a poor showing.”
One friend of Mr Gibson said the MP was the victim of a political assassination.
“The machine wanted a sacrificial victim and who better than to go for one of Gordon’s critics rather than his friends? Instead of shooting the critic, the machine ended up shooting the party.”
Labour’s poor showing confirms the prime minister’s lack of popularity and the broad perception of an administration facing its final chapter.
The Liberal Democrats won 4,809 votes, not far behind Labour.
There were also respectable showings for the Greens, at 3,350 votes, and the UK Independence party, the anti-Brussels party, at 4,068. – (Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009)