Steve Tuckwell’s victory speech in Uxbridge and South Ruislip
Labour was plunged into chaos today after the chair of the Uxbridge local party quit hours after the by-election defeat.
Taking to Twitter to announce his departure as chair of Uxbridge and South Ruislip’s Constituency Labour Party and that he was also ditching his membership, David Williams said politics “needs to have principles”.
In a parting swipe at Sir Keir Starmer, he added that former leader Jeremy Corbyn gave a “huge boost” to Labour.
He said: “I have resigned as chair of Uxbridge and South Ruislip CLP. I am also resigning my membership of the Labour Party.
“Politics needs to have principles or we end up with people like Boris Johnson and Liz Truss running the country. Jeremy Corbyn gave a huge boost to the Labour Party.”
Mr Corbyn led Labour to two general election defeats during his stint at the helm from 2015 to 2020.
The Islington North MP currently sits as an independent in the Commons following an antisemitism row.
Sir Keir has blocked his pedecessor from standing for Labour at the next general election to the fury of the left of the party.
It comes as the Tories held Boris Johnson’s former seat in Thursday’s by-election despite Labour hoping to swipe it.
Conservative candidate Steve Tuckwell beat Labour’s Danny Beales by 495 votes.
Labour’s failure to take the constituency has widely been blamed on London Mayor Sadiq Khan’s deeply unpopular expansion of the ultra low emission zone (ULEZ).
Sir Keir today said: “In relation to Uxbridge, we knew it was going to be tough.
“We didn’t take it in 1997 when we had a landslide Labour victory. And Ulez was the reason we didn’t win there yesterday.
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“We know that. We heard that on the doors. And we’ve all got to reflect on that, including the Mayor.”
Meanwhile deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner told BBC Breakfast: “I think one of the things we have to reflect on today is not only the mood against the Tories, but also the decision in Uxbridge was related to Ulez.
“The Uxbridge result shows that when you don’t listen to the voters, you don’t win elections.”
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