Labour will fight to win all the by-elections triggered by Boris Johnson and his allies, amid optimism that victories in the three contests would show that Sir Keir Starmer is on course for a large majority at the next general election.
The by-elections in Uxbridge & South Ruislip, Selby & Ainsty and Mid Bedfordshire will all test Starmer’s mission to broaden Labour’s appeal to different segments of the electorate.
A senior Labour source insisted that the party was “going for the treble”, despite the Liberal Democrats pushing to be the main anti-Conservative option in Mid Bedfordshire, which is currently represented by Nadine Dorries, the former culture secretary who was ultimately denied a peerage in Johnson’s resignation honours list.
The by-elections are likely to take
