A former Tory minister has thrown her support behind Labour's candidate in a key by-election battle, saying she is fed up with the "decline in our country".
Anna Soubry said constituents in Mid Bedfordshire have the "power" to deliver a "shock" to British politics by voting for Labour's Alistair Strathern. It comes as the party hopes to "make history" in the traditionally Tory safe seat and overturn a staggering majority of over 24,000 on Thursday.
In a letter circulated by Labour to residents in the seat, Ms Soubry says: "The Conservative Party is not the one I joined, it has departed from our values and nowhere feels that more acutely than Mid Bedfordshire. I've had enough of the decline of our country. A decline in living standards, in values, and hope. While the Conservative Party has departed from our values, Labour has embraced them."
The Business Minister in former Tory PM David Cameron's Government adds: "Our politics needs a shock, a restart. You have the power to deliver it by voting for decency in Alistair Strathern." Ms Soubry, the ex-MP for Broxtowe, quit the Conservatives in 2019 over the government's handling of Brexit. She joined the centrist Independ ent Group for Change which disbanded after the 2019 general election.
The criminal barrister has been heavily critical of the Tories in recent years and last week announced she will vote Labour at the next general election. She said with Keir Starmer as leader the party has the "values and competence to deliver the change our country desperately needs".
The by-election test for Rishi Sunak in Mid Bedfordshire was triggered after the resignation of former Conservative cabinet minister Nadine Dorries in the summer. A poll last month suggested there has been a major drop in Tory support in the area with both Mr Sunak's party and Labour tied on 20%. The Liberal Democrats, who also claim they can win the seat, were on 15%.
But the polling expert Professor Sir John Curtice has previously warned the Conservatives could hold on to the seat due to the split in the anti-Tory vote. He told PoliticsHome in the summer: “If there is any by-election where the Tories can hold on to the seat amid difficult circumstances, it’s probably Mid Bedfordshire, because both parties [Labour and the Liberal Democrats] are determined to fight the seat".
The vote in Mid Bedfordshire will be held on the same day as a second by-election in Tamworth - another seat where the Tories have a huge majority. Former Tory whip Chris Pincher, who had represented the constituency since 2010, resigned as an MP last month after losing an appeal against a Commons suspension for drunkenly groping two men. He had been sitting as an independent MP since July 2022, having lost the Tory whip after the allegations emerged.
Speaking last week, the Labour leader said: "This by-election will be a tough ask. We have to earn every vote. But it's a sign of how far we've come since 2019 that we are pushing the Tories in these areas. It's a two-horse race here. My message to Conservative voters in Tamworth, who are fed up with this chaotic government, is to vote for Labour's Sarah Edwards to send a message that enough is enough, and it's time for a change."
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