On 19 October, Labour won its biggest by-election victory over the Conservatives since the Second World war in Tamworth, a seat that has a special significance in Tory history. Alistair Lexden commented as follows:
The Tamworth manifesto, issued by Sir Robert Peel to the electors in his safe seat in 1834, is the modern Conservative party’s founding document, staking its claim to be a moderate, progressive force. Two years earlier the Carlton Club had been founded as its national headquarters. Christopher Pincher’s behaviour besmirched the Club last year, and now Tamworth has been lost with a massive swing against the Conservatives. Nothing could illustrate more clearly the party’s current plight.
