Brentford & Isleworth a winner for Lib Dems after Bromley result

12.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Fri 30th Jun 2006

Andrew Dakers, Lib Dem parliamentary spokesperson, said that in London, Brentford & Isleworth is now the fifth most winnable seat for the Lib Dems at the next General Election

Last night, after a huge swing to the Liberal Democrats, the Conservatives only just retained their seventeenth safest seat in the country with a tiny 633 majority. If this swing is repeated at the next general election the Lib Dems will win hundreds of seats, but significantly Brentford & Isleworth is now one of the most winnable nationwide. In London the seat is now the fifth most winnable for the Lib Dems at the next General Election.

The decrease in the Conservative vote is the worst by-election result for the Conservative party in a Tory held seat since Wirral South in February 1997 - the last days of the John Major premiership. Labour came fourth.

The BBC called it "a stunning result", "a very bad night for David Cameron" and a "very, very good night for the Liberal Democrats".

Labour's fourth place is the first time the party in power has finished fourth in an English by-election since Liverpool Walton, the 1991 by-election caused by the death of Eric Heffer.

Andrew Dakers, Liberal Democrat group leader on Hounslow Council and Parliamentary Spokesperson for Brentford & Isleworth, said:

"Last night's result has been far from convincing for the Conservatives, and it is clear that Labour has lost the trust of its former supporters. This result shows that as Labour lose support nationally - it is the Liberal Democrats to whom people are turning.

"This is a sensational result for the Liberal Democrats. It shows that we can make strong advances at the expense of both other parties. It also confirms what we already suspected, that Brentford & Isleworth is a very winnable prospect for the Lib Dems at the next general election."

Sir Menzies Campbell MP said:

"This is a stupendous result for the Liberal Democrats in one of the safest Conservative seats in the country. It shows that there is no confidence in Cameron's Tories in the Conservative heartlands.

"Together with the results in Wales there has been a complete rejection of the Labour government following upon the Liberal Democrat success in Dunfermline earlier this year.

"Liberal Democrats are now challenging both Labour and the Conservatives, even in their heartlands."