'Why isn't the party inspiring Tories to vote?' Jacob Rees Mogg issues urgent call to action after by-election double blow

Gen Kitchen secured Wellingborough with 45.8 per cent of the vote, while Damien Egan won Kingswood with 44.9 per cent of the vote.

The results provided Labour with a boost after a U-turn on the party's pledge to spend £28 billion on green projects and the antisemitism rows this week.

Speaking on GB News Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg said: "If you add up the Conservative vote and the Reform vote, then that is more than the vote achieved by the Labour Party.

"I think the challenge for Conservatives is to reunite the right wing of politics because the way we let Keir Starmer in by the back door of Downing Street is if the two parties that share so many things in common are divided on Election Day."

GB News host Tom Harwood said: "It is interesting to hear you say that Sir Jacob, the Tory plus Reform would have beaten Labour here, is it your message that the Reform Party cost the Tories this seat?

"No, I think it's very arrogant to say that people should have voted for another party. It's for us as politicians to win their support. I think we win their support by concentrating on the areas where we agree.

"That means getting to a position where taxes are reduced, dealing with the ridiculous net zero proposals that are becoming unaffordable in a closing down industry in this country, making sure we get all the benefits of Brexit, the things that people voted for in 2019.

"If we can path across, we can remind people of the excitement of Conservatives and can reunite the right of politics, then the Conservatives with Reform have a chance of winning the next election."

Rees Mogg explained: "It's obviously important to get inflation under control, but I'm afraid the Bank of England failed to keep inflation under control.

"The slow putting interest rates up and is now being slow to bring them back down again.

"There is a real problem with the way the Bank of England is operating and the Governor coming out in the last couple of days and blaming his inaccurate forecasts on the data that they use is really hopeless.

"It's always been known that the data that go into forecasts are not as accurate as you would hope for and you have to apply judgment to your forecasts, not assuming that they will just mathematically be right."

The results mean the Government has now suffered the most by-election defeats of any government since the 1960s, surpassing the eight defeats suffered by John Major in the run-up to Tony Blair's 1997 landslide victory.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer hailed the victories, saying: "These are fantastic results in Kingswood and Wellingborough that show people want change and are ready to put their faith in a changed Labour Party to deliver it.”