Alistair Strathern, who was a councillor for Higham Hill, overturned a majority of 24,664 to become the next MP for Mid-Bedfordshire
By Marco Marcelline
A former Waltham Forest councillor won a parliamentary by-election last night to become the next MP for Mid-Bedfordshire.
Alistair Strathern, who was a councillor for Higham Hill until his resignation last month, overturned a Conservative majority of 24,664 for Labour.
The by-election was called on 5th September after former culture secretary Nadine Dorries resigned from her seat. She had been MP for Mid-Bedfordshire since 2005.
In addition to being councillor Strathern had held council cabinet positions including the brief for children and young people and fifteen-minute neighbourhoods.
In his victory speech, Strathern, who grew up in the constituency, said: “Tonight, residents across Mid Bedfordshire have made history. After decades of being taken for granted, being underrepresented, they made a decision it was time for a change. Nowhere is off limits for this Labour party and tonight’s result proves it.”
He added that Labour’s win in the Tory safe seat was only possible because the party had “changed” under Keir Starmer’s leadership.
Strathern won 13,872 votes while Conservative candidate Festus Akinbusoye won 12,680. Third placed Liberal Democrats candidate Emma Holland-Lindsay won a total of 9,420 votes.
The Labour electoral win comes the same night as another victory for the Starmer-led party in the Tamworth by-election.
On X (formerly Twitter), Strathern said: “From the bottom of our hearts – thank you. I will not let you down.”
Meanwhile, Labour Party leader Keir Starmer heralded the by-election results as showing that “voters across Mid Bedfordshire, Tamworth and Britain overwhelmingly want change”.
He added: “Labour will deliver for working people, with a proper plan to rebuild our country. Labour will give Britain its future back.”
In addition to his work as a Waltham Forest cabinet member, Strathern held a full-time role as “climate lead” at the Bank of England. In July, he told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that he had taken unpaid leave from the role in order to “free up time” for his by-election campaign efforts.
Strathern was selected as the Labour candidate in June, more than two months before Dorries tendered her formal resignation and a by-election was triggered. Until announcing his resignation from the council in September, Strathern continued to receive his total yearly allowance of £39,304 for his positions as a ward councillor and cabinet member.
At the time Strathern came under criticism for continuing to receive the money after moving from the borough to Shefford, in Mid-Bedfordshire in order to fight his campaign.
Emma Best, Waltham Forest Conservative group leader, said: “If he truly has moved to Bedfordshire he should do the right thing and allow a councillor rooted in the borough to take on this work which includes a massive project of summer engagement with our residents…
“Unless 15-minute neighbourhoods include air travel he certainly isn’t living this work out on the ground.”
A by-election for Strathern’s vacant Higham Hill seat will be held next Thursday (26th October). A total of five candidates are standing in the election. Public relations professional Shumon Ali-Rahman, the Labour candidate who is seen as most likely to win the seat, has promised to invest in green infrastructure.
In campaign leaflets Labour activists have been handing out in Higham Hill, Shumon said he would push for investment in “trees, rain gardens, cycle hangars and electric vehicle charging points” if elected.
Green candidate Abigail Woodman said she would “collaborate” with residents on policy making and seek to re-introduce scrapped ward forums as a way to improve local democracy.
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