Labour’s general election candidate Gareth Snell has just been elected as the new MP for Stoke-on-Trent Central.
First elected to represent the seat in a by-election in February 2017 following the resignation of previous Labour MP Tristram Hunt, he held the seat at the general election later that year but lost out to Tory Jo Gideon in 2019 by 670 votes.
A busy few days across Stoke-on-Trent Central. Speaking to residents in Hartshill, Etruria and Fenton. A public meeting with Cllr @Lauraanne141 on nuisance bikes in Sneyd Green, and the first fundraiser for our new Lord Mayor Cllr Lyn Sharpe at the wonderful @TitanicBrewers pic.twitter.com/PHzQO27KG3
— Gareth Snell MP (@gareth_snell) May 19, 2024
READ MORE: More profiles of new Labour MPs at the 2024 general election
The seat was a key battleground Labour that analysis suggests Labour had needed to win to secure an overall majority, assuming a uniform national swing.
To win the constituency, Labour had required a swing result of at least 2.1 percentage points from its tally at the 2019 general election.
Labour’s target seat list is not public, but this seat ranks 17th on LabourList‘s unofficial list of targets – based on the smallest swings required versus the 2019 election.
Nationally, experts suggest Labour needs a swing from the Tories of 8.2pp to be the largest party, 12.7pp to gain an overall majority and 13.8pp for a majority of 30+.
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