Chester by election results – latest: Rishi Sunak fails first electoral test as Labour retain Chester seat

Suffering its worst election result in Chester since 1832, the Conservative Party took just 22.4 per cent of the votes to Labour’s 61.2 per cent, figures show.

But how did other parties fare? Here is the full break down of the ballot:

The Archbishop of Canterbury has said there must be “no way we force peace” in Ukraine.

Justin Welby added that the need for support is going to be “very long term”.

Asked what he learned from his visit to the war-torn country, he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “First of all, the need for solidarity and support for Ukraine.

“And secondly, that there must be no way in which we force peace on Ukraine or they’re put under pressure. Third, that the need for support is going to be very long term.”

Pressed on whether he meant, in some cases, war is the right course, he said: “Peace is always better than war. But there are times when justice demands that there is the defeat of what we call, the Archbishop of York and I called when it started, an evil invasion. And I don’t regret saying that.

“Ukraine is the victim here, we can’t slip back to a 1938 Czechoslovakia, sort of people far away of whom we know little situation. There has to be real resilience.”

Lord Robert Hayward, a Conservative peer and elections analyst, said there were “no shocks” at the City of Chester by-election.

But he said the Tories will be “relieved” they got more than 20 per cent of the vote.

“I think, generally as expected, no shocks but definite satisfaction for the Labour Party,” he told Sky News.

He added that there is “no question” the Tories have a “real challenge on their hands”.

“But having said that, Rishi comes across to the public at large as managerial,” he said. His ratings are way ahead of the Tory party’s. His ratings which will worry the Labour Party, are on a par with Keir Starmer, depending on which poll you actually look at.

“There are some indications that there are opportunities there for the Tory party. But Rishi has to convince the public at large that he can manage out of this crisis, whichever crisis one’s looking at – and there’s a lot of them.”

Boris Johnson’s decision to fight for the Uxbridge and South Ruislip constituency at the next general election effectively amounts to confirmation that he believes he will at some point return as leader of the Conservative Party, writes Andrew Woodcock.

Boris Johnson has fuelled expectations of another bid to regain the Conservative leadership by confirming he will stand again as an MP at the next general election.

A source close to the former prime minister said he intends to be the Tory candidate in his Uxbridge and South Ruislip constituency at the poll expected in 2024.

Rishi Sunak has said that racism must be “confronted”, as Buckingham Palaces faces questions after a black domestic abuse campaigner was asked where she “really camefrom” at a royal reception

Ngozi Fulani, founder of the charity Sistah Space, expressed shock at her treatment by the late Queen’s lady in waiting, Lady Susan Hussey, but said she had yet to be contacted by Buckingham Palace to discuss the incident.
The prime minister on Thursday declined to comment directly on the row but said that it was right to “confront” racism.

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More cost of living help is set to be paid out over the course of this month.

Here is a guide to what you can expect and who is eligible.

Suella Braverman’s return as home secretary just six days after resigning for leaking secret documents has set a “dangerous precedent” that undermines confidence in the integrity of the government, a cross-party parliamentary report has found, writes Andrew Woodcock.

Rishi Sunak should not have been able to “wipe the slate clean” over a breach of ministerial standards that merited a “significant” period out of office, said the Commons Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee (PACAC).

The committee said that the new ethics adviser whom the prime minister has promised to appoint should not be blocked from investigating Ms Braverman’s actions and recommending further sanctions.

The new MP for Chester has said voters sent a strong message that they think “it’s Labour’s turn”.

Samantha Dixon, the former leader of Cheshire West and Chester Council, won the seat in Thursday’s by-election, increasing the Labour majority in what was the first electoral test for prime minister Rishi Sunak.

Speaking to media after the result, she said: “I think I have been in receipt of a very strong message from the voters of Chester that they want the Conservative cost-of-living crisis tackled immediately.

“I don’t think they believe that the Conservatives have the answers, I think they think it’s Labour’s turn now.”

She described the City of Chester as a “bellwether constituency” and said the result was “really, really encouraging”.