Labor has claimed victory in the Kiama byelection, winning the seat vacated by convicted rapist Gareth Ward.

A win for Labor’s Katelin McInerney, the frontrunner, is a feat not seen in NSW since 1996 – the flipping of a seat in a byelection that goes for, rather than against, the government.

While preference flows will change the final count, the disastrous result for the Liberals means leader Mark Speakman’s position could be in jeopardy.

Just before 8pm, early primary vote counts had Labor on 35 per cent with the Liberals on 24 per cent.

Copley conceded just before 8.30pm.

Members of Speakman’s party speaking anonymously this week told the Herald a result of anything less than 30 per cent of the vote would most likely be the death knell of his leadership

“This is a community that

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