Streeting: Labour 'not shedding any tears' over North Shropshire by-election
19 December 2021, 13:36
Streeting: Labour made 'very sensible judgements' in North Shropshire
The Shadow Health Secretary congratulated the Lib Dems for winning a monumental by-election, despite Labour's share dropping by nearly 75%.
The Prime Minister is under increased pressure after a monumental defeat in the North Shropshire by-election.
The Conservatives lost to the Liberal Democrats, losing the seat for the first time in 200 years.
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Tom Swarbrick pointed out to Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streting that Labour also suffered a massive drop in support at the by-election, going from 12,000 to 3,500 votes. "What went wrong?" He wondered.
Mr Streeting described the defeat as "hammer blow for the Prime Minister's authority", and admitted that he was not "shedding any tears" over Labour's drop in support.
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"Political parties are very good at knowing where to put resources in order to win an election" Mr Streeting said.
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Tom asked the Labour MP whether their strategy was about "knocking off" the Conservative candidate. Mr Streeting wasn't drawn on the question but said the "result speaks for itself".
"I don't think Labour were expecting to win the North Shropshire by-election so we planned accordingly."
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Mr Streeting admitted he was "not particularly sorry to see the result" and congratulated the Liberal Democrats on their win.
