Michael Portillo tells GB News Labour would win Bury South by-election 'handsomely' after Tory MP defection

Former senior Conservative MP Michael Portillo has told GB News he thinks Labour would win a future by-election in Bury South "quite handsomely", after the sitting Tory MP Christian Wakeford defected to Keir Starmer's party on Wednesday.

Mr Portillo told To The Point, "I think ethically there should be a by-election, there rarely is."

However, he believed the Christian Wakeford's crossing the floor "has helped Boris Johnson."

"There's nothing that most MPs detest more than a defection", he said.

The former Chief Secretary to the Treasury said the Bury South MP should expect his ex-Conservative colleagues to be less than cordial.

"Christian Wakeford is going to have quite an unhappy life, I'm afraid", he said.

"His old colleagues will give him absolutely the cold shoulder.

"The weakness in his position is that it's so recent that he was elected for the first time that he's been consistently voting with the Government on quite contentious issues, on which the Labour Party has had a very strongly opposed position.

"So it's very difficult for him to argue that he's been moving towards the Labour Party's positions.

Asked who would win a future a by-election in Bury South, Mr Portillo backed Keir Starmer to hold the seat.

"I think it would be an interesting risk for Labour to take because I think they would win the by-election, probably quite handsomely.

"But it would be very painful within Bury South itself."