New Wakefield MP Simon Lightwood says Labor is ‘rebuilding the red wall’

New Wakefield MP Simon Lightwood said Labor was “rebuilding the red wall” as the party reclaimed the West Yorkshire seat from the Tories.

Mr Lightwood was elected with a majority of 4,925 people, with a 12.7% swing from the Conservatives to Labour.

Wakefield was continuously a Labor seat from 1932 until 2019, when it was won for the Conservatives by Imran Ahmad Khan as part of the Conservative takeover of so-called red wall constituencies in the North of England.

A by-election was called after Mr Khan resigned earlier this year following his conviction for sexually assaulting a teenager.

In his victory speech, Mr Lightwood said: “The next Labor government was born in this chamber tonight.”

Speaking from the podium, he said: “Tonight the people of Wakefield have spoken for the British people. They said unreservedly: “Boris Johnson, your contempt for this country will no longer be tolerated.”

“It is not acceptable that a quarter of our children in Wakefield are living in poverty, it is not acceptable that hundreds of people are leaving A and E every month without treatment due to record NHS waiting times and it is not acceptable that convictions for crimes such as robbery to have dropped by almost half in the last five years.

“The people of Wakefield and across the country are fed up with the deceit and dishonesty of this government.”

Mr Lightwood later told Labor reporters he was “rebuilding the red wall” and that the biggest issue at the door during the campaign was the cost of living crisis.

Asked what victory would mean for Sir Keir Starmer’s leadership, he said: “I think it speaks volumes. We are rebuilding the red wall and this is the birthplace of the next Labor government.”

Mr Lightwood added: “We are rebuilding the confidence of the electorate and people are ready for a fresh start. They are fed up with all the lies and deceit of Boris Johnson and we are offering this alternative vision.”

Asked if the success would translate into other redwall seats in the north, he said: “I think we can be sure of that.”