VOTERS in Wellingborough and Kingswood headed to the polls to select their new MP today in two key by-elections.

The polling closed late at night and the results were expected early this morning in the seats being defended by the Tories, with Labour expected to take both contests.

A Tory defeat in either constituency means that the government has clocked up more by-election losses in a single parliament than any administration since the 1960s.

According to the latest voting intention poll from Savanta, the lead enjoyed by Labour over the Conservatives had dropped by seven points after a turbulent couple of weeks for the party.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer canvassed voters by phone for the elections. He was pictured laughing with musician Feargal Sharkey at the party HQ in London.

Reform UK was expected to make gains in Wellingborough, which has targeted disgruntled right-wing voters.

Kingswood’s vote was triggered by Conservative MP Chris Skidmore’s resignation from the party in protest against the government’s legislation to boost North Sea oil and gas drilling.

He won the Gloucestershire constituency for the Tories at the past four general elections, before which Labour held it at every general election since 1992.

Kingswood’s constituency will be abolished at the next generation, meaning that the winner will only represent the seat for a few months.

The by-election in Wellingborough was called after former Tory MP Peter Bone was suspended from the Commons when an inquiry found he was guilty of bullying a staff member and sexual misconduct.

He won the Northamptonshire constituency at every general election since 2005.

Constituents needed a photo ID to vote, which has proven to deter voters in the past, but the impacts of the new Tory legislation were not immediately clear.

A third by-election in Rochdale will be taking place on February 29, called following the death of its MP Sir Tony Lloyd.

The outcome has been thrown into uncertainty following Labour’s withdrawal of its candidate Azhar Ali due to comments he made about Israel and Jewish people.  

Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves defended her party further today amid accusations of dithering over the allegations, saying it would have acted sooner if it had known about the comments.

She insisted today that Sir Keir had acted  swiftly to “ensure the highest standards.”