Blackpool South byelection: the size of the swing to Labour made this such an unpleasant night for Rishi Sunak

By Martin Farr, Senior Lecturer in Contemporary British History, Newcastle University

The last time Labour won Blackpool South, the party won 270 other constituencies. It was 1997 and Labour took 179 more than all other parties combined. Tony Blair walked down a flag-festooned Downing Street later that sunny May day.

The debate about whether Britain is approaching a 1992 knife-edge election, where a surprisingly resilient Conservative government retains office, or a 1997-style landslide in which it is humiliated, increasingly seems like being resolved.

Like Blackpool Tower, the constituency of Blackpool South stayed red for a long time after 1997. That was…

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