Davey: By-election in safe Tory seat on a knife edge

A crucial by-election in an ultra-safe Conservative constituency is on a “knife edge”, according to the Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey, who claimed traditional Tory voters feel they have been “taken for granted”.

- ASHLEY COWBURN

Just three days before voters head to the polls in North Shropshire, Sir Ed appeared optimistic about his party’s prospects – despite coming third with just 10 per cent of the vote share in 2019 – and said there was a “really good chance of winning” if Labour and Green supporters voted tactically.

After the Liberal Democrats’ previous surprise victory against the Conservatives in the Chesham and Amersham by-election earlier this year, he told The Independent: “We’ve had some good by-election victories over the years – this would be off the scale.”

The by-election was triggered last month after Owen Paterson, who was found to have flouted rules on lobbying, resigned as an MP when Boris Johnson performed a U-turn on widely condemned proposals to create a Tory-dominated committee to review Commons sleaze rules. Given the Conservatives have held the seat for almost 200 years and commanded a 23,000strong majority at the 2019 general election, a defeat on Thursday would represent a stunning blow for the prime minister and inevitably raise further questions over his leadership.