Ed Miliband today welcomed three new Labour MPs to Westminster, including Andy Sawford who romped to victory in Thursday’s Corby by-election.
Mr Miliband said the wins provided a “fantastic” boost to the party, particularly in seizing Corby from the Conservatives - Labour’s first by-election gain from Tories in 15 years.
He was joined by dozens of cheering Labour MPs to welcome Mr Sawford, the new Cardiff South & Penarth MP Stephen Doughty and the party’s first female MP in Manchester, Lucy Powell, as they arrived to take their places in the House of Commons.
Mr Miliband said: “We won three by-elections last Thursday but we know the work goes on. The work goes on to take the message of One Nation Labour to every part of this country and that is what we are going to do as the Labour Party.”
Mr Sawford said his victory by a margin of almost 7,800 over the Tories last Thursday was “hugely important in showing that people are putting their trust in Ed Miliband’s Labour Party”.
He dismissed Conservative suggestions that the 12.7 per cent swing to Labour was due to voters’ anger at former Tory MP Louise Mensch’s decision to step down to spend more time with her family in New York.
“They voted to send a message to the Government that they feel the Government’s policies are failing,” said Mr Sawford.
“A lot of the people who supported me at this election voted for David Cameron two years ago and now they feel the Government is letting them down.”
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