Rishi Sunak braced for triple by-election defeat as polls close

Rishi Sunak faces a nerve-wracking wait until the early hours to see if the Tories have managed to win the three by-elections. Voters headed to the ballot box in Uxbridge and South Ruislip, Selby and Ainsty, and Somerton and Frome, on Thursday with polling closing at 10pm. The results are expected in the early hours of Friday. The Prime Minister braced MPs at a meeting of the 1922 Committee of Tory backbenchers on the eve of the polls that they face a “tough battle” in what were seen as safe seats for his party. Labour hopes to take Uxbridge and South Ruislip, Boris Johnson’s former London constituency, and Selby and Ainsty in North Yorkshire, which was vacated by his ally Nigel Adams. The Lib Dems are eying victory in the contest in Somerton and Frome in Somerset that was triggered by David Warburton quitting after admitting cocaine use amid allegations of sexual harassment. FOLLOW BELOW FOR LIVE UPDATES: 7 mins ago 22:09 Katie Harris Liberal Democrat Cabinet Office spokesperson Christine Jardine said: ‘I am so proud of the campaigns the Liberal Democrats have run and the candidates who have stood proudly for our vision of a fair deal for the British people. ‘If we succeed in overturning the huge 19,000 majority in Somerton and Frome, in what should be a safe Conservative seat, it would mark a watershed moment for the Liberal Democrats. ‘It would prove yet again that in vast swathes of the country, from Somerset to Surrey, the best way to get rid of this Conservative government is to vote for the Liberal Democrats.’ 7 mins ago 22:09 Katie Harris A Labour Party spokesman said: “It’s going to be some time before we get any results. But what we do know is that none of these seats have ever had a Labour MP before, so they were always going to be a challenge. “We didn’t even win Uxbridge in 1997 and to win Selby and Ainsty would require us to overturn the biggest majority in our history. “So while we don’t know if we’ve made it over the line, it’s clear that Keir Starmer’s leadership of a changed Labour Party, back in the service of working people, has seen voters put their trust in us – many for the first time.” 14 mins ago 22:02 Katie Harris A Conservative spokesperson said: “There’s no doubt that this was always going to be a very challenging set of by-elections, especially given the circumstances in which they were brought about. “We have to wait for the results to come in, but by-elections are rarely won by governing parties and they are rarely good indicators of general election performance. “Across all of these campaigns we have heard zero enthusiasm for Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour Party and their lack of answers. “We now need to redouble our efforts earning back the trust of voters by delivering on our plan to halve inflation, grow the economy, reduce debt, cut waiting lists and stop the boats.” 15 mins ago 22:01 Katie Harris Rishi Sunak is braced for a possible triple by-election blow after polls closed in contests which will be viewed as a test of his leadership. In Uxbridge and South Ruislip, Labour’s Danny Beales hopes to defeat the Tory Steve Tuckwell. In Selby and Ainsty, 25-year-old Keir Mather will become the new Baby of the House if he wins for Labour, with Tory Claire Holmes trying to retain the seat for her party. Somerton and Frome has Sarah Dyke hoping to win for the Liberal Democrats, while Faye Purbrick wants to ensure it stays Conservative. Losses for the Tories in all of them would be the first time in 55 years that a government has been defeated in three by-elections on the same day.