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James Robinson

What would happen if the Wakefield by-election result was replicated in the North East

Boris Johnson and the Conservative Party suffered another blow yesterday with the loss of two by-elections in a single night.

The Labour Party retained the Wakefield seat the party lost in 2019 for the first time since the 1930s with South Shields-raised Simon Lightwood elected, while the Liberal Democrats took the Tiverton and Honiton seat, with Richard Foord becoming the first non-Conservative MP since the seat's creation in 1997.

In both seats there was a significant swing away from the Tories, following a difficult spell for the party over partygate and a no-confidence vote in Prime Minister Boris Johnson earlier this month.

Read more: Bookies cut odds on Boris Johnson leaving Downing Street in 2022 after by-election hammerings

Wakefield saw a 12.7% swing from the Conservatives to Labour, while Tiverton and Honiton swung 29.9% to the Liberal Democrats - the sixth largest swing against the governing party since 1945 and the largest majority ever overturned in a by-election. But what would happen if those results were replicated in the North East?

The Conservatives currently hold six seats across Northumberland and Durham - Hexham, Berwick, Blyth Valley, North West Durham, Bishop Auckland and Segefield. While Hexham and Berwick are considered safe Conservative seats, the remaining constituencies were all part of the so-called 'Red Wall' taken by the Conservatives in 2019.

To calculate the swing needed for the seat to change, you take the majority between the winning party and the second-placed party - making the minimum swing needed for the seat to change hands.

In each Conservative seat in the North East, the closest opposition is Labour, so we've done the maths to work out what would happen if the Wakefield swing was replicated here - and the results make grim reading for the Conservatives.

Just one Tory MP would remain in the region, with Labour retaking all the lost red wall seats and even taking a safe Conservative seat for the first time ever.

Hexham

Guy Opperman (Newcastle Chronicle)

Current MP: Guy Oppeman.
Last election: Conservatives (54.5%), Labour (31.6%)

For Labour to win the seat, it would require an 11.45% swing as the Conservatives currently have a 22.9% majority. If the Wakefield swing was replicated here, Labour would have a 1.25% majority and win the seat for the first time in history.

Berwick Upon Tweed

Anne-Marie Trevelyan (PA)

Current MP: Anne Marie Trevelyan
Last election: Conservatives (56.9%), Labour (21.6%)

Cabinet minister Anne Marie Trevelyan would take some unseating, with Labour needing a 17.65% swing to win the seat - meaning if the Wakefield result was replicated, the Conservatives would still hold a 4.95% majority.

Blyth Valley

Blyth MP Ian Levy (Newcastle Chronicle)

Current MP: Ian Levy
Last election: Conservatives (42.7%), Labour (40.9%), Liberal Democrats (5.3 per cent).

Ian Levy's small majority of just 1.8% following his shock win in 2019 means Labour would need just a 0.9% swing to retake the seat it had previously held since the 1950s, meaning the Wakefield swing would be enough to give them an 11.8% majority.

North West Durham

North West Durham MP Richard Holden (Craig Connor/ChronicleLive)

Current MP: Richard Holden
Last election: Conservatives (41.9%), Labour (39.5%).

Another Red Wall seat Labour lost to the Conservatives in 2019, Labour would need a swing of just 1.2% to win the seat. The Wakefield result would give Labour an 11.5% majority.

Bishop Auckland

Bishop Auckland MP Dehenna Davison (Handout)

Current MP: Dehenna Davison
Last election: Conservatives (53.7%) Labour (35.9%),

Another Red Wall seat to fall in 2019, Dehenna Davison managed an impressive swing herself meaning it would take an 8.9 swing back to Labour to unseat her - but the Wakefield swing would still result in a 3.8% Labour majority.

Sedgefield

Sedgefield MP Paul Howell (Newcastle Chronicle)

Current MP: Paul Howell
Last election: Conservatives (47.2%), Labour (36.3%)

It was a major shock when Tony Blair's former constituency of Sedgefield went blue in 2019 - but Labour would need just a 5.45 swing to take back the seat, meaning they would have a 7.25% majority if the Wakefield result was replicated.

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