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<\/picture><\/span>PA Media<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\nLabour’s victory in the West Lancashire by-election shows the Conservatives have “run out of road,” Rachel Reeves has said.<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The shadow chancellor said the result, which saw a 10.5% swing from the Tories, had sent a “clear message” to Rishi Sunak.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The party’s candidate Ashley Dalton will replace Rosie Cooper, who stood down as the area’s MP after 17 years.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n It follows two recent by-election holds for Labour in north-west England.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The party had been widely expected to retain the West Lancashire seat, which they have held since 1992.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Its winning 8,326 majority is similar to that after the last election in 2019, but its share of the vote increased from 52.1% to 62.3%.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The result is the latest indication of the task facing Mr Sunak ahead of local elections in May, with the Tories trailing Labour in national polls. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Ms Reeves told reporters the by-election win was a “strong result” for her party, with voters there “sending a clear message to Rishi Sunak and his government that frankly they are no longer fit to govern”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n “People want a general election and a choice now about who is in government, because this government have run out of ideas and they’ve run out of road,” she added.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n