Labour leader renews call for general election following by-election victory

LONDON

Labour Party leader Keir Starmer on Friday demanded Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to call general election after his party's Blackpool South by-election victory.

Labour Party's candidate Chris Webb received 10,825 votes with a 7,607 majority after Thursday's contest, a 58.9% vote share. Starmer called it a "historic" win in a new blow to Sunak.

The by-election comes following the resignation of former Conservative MP Scott Benton in March.

"Here in Blackpool, a message has been sent directly to the prime minister, because this was a parliamentary vote," he said.

Starmer added: "This was directly to Rishi Sunak to say we're fed up with your decline, your chaos, and your division, and we want change. We want to go forward with Labour."

"That wasn't just a little message, that wasn't just a murmur. That was a shout from Blackpool," he said, praising Webb for "making history" with this win.

On his victory, Webb stated that people were "fed up" and "want change," adding Conservatives also voted for him in this election because they want that change.

The by-election victory comes amid local elections across England and Wales in which Labour Party leads with positive results with four new councils and 59 new council seats as the count continues.

The ruling Conservative Party has lost three councils they were defending, alongside 113 council seats, as almost one-third of the results are declared.

Despite overall positive results, the Labour votes saw a decrease in areas where Muslims make up 5% of the population amid reaction to party’s stance toward the Israeli attacks in Gaza.