Labor Wins Stafford By-Election, LNP Concedes

The LNP has conceded it has fallen short of victory in the by-election for the Queensland state electorate of Stafford in Brisbane's northern suburbs.

Labor's former state assistant secretary, Luke Richmond, is on track to enter parliament as the next member for Stafford, defeating the LNP's Fiona Hammond.

In a statement overnight, Opposition Leader Steven Miles said "the people of Stafford have sent the LNP a message".

"The Queensland Labor momentum is building," he said.

"We have seen that momentum right here on the ground in Stafford, and tonight has drawn the battle lines for the 2028 election."

Speaking on Sunday morning, Premier David Crisafulli said he was "humbled by the results" despite the LNP not winning the seat.

"The votes will continue to be counted, we will fall short, but I'm really proud of the effort," he said.

The by-election was held after the death of former MP Jimmy Sullivan, who was found dead in his home last month.

There had been a 4.1 per cent swing against Labor after preferences, as counting ended on Saturday night.

"Governments don't usually get a swing towards them in a by-election, certainly not of this magnitude," Mr Crisafulli said.

He thanked "the electors of Stafford for choosing hope over fear" and Ms Hammond for her hard work during the four-week campaign.

"The results certainly exceeded our expectations," Mr Crisafulli said.

It was the second time the former Brisbane city councillor had contested the seat.

Admitting Ms Hammond "just won't get there", Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie said it was still a "disastrous" result for Labor, describing the results as on a "knife-edge".

"The results are in last night, and it's clear that Steven Miles's leadership is in absolute tatters," he said on Sunday morning.

Mr Bleijie said Mr Miles was trying to "rewrite history" by claiming Labor had received a good result.

"He didn't. It was a Labor seat. He tried to make out it was going to be a tough election," he said.

Labor has won the seat nine out of 10 times since it was created in 2001.

Mr Bleijie said the results raised questions over Mr Miles's leadership of the opposition.

"Steven Miles is out of depth in leadership, and he just cannot read the room," he said.

"[Luke Richmond's] first vote's not going to be in parliament … He's going to vote for the Labor Party spill motion that inevitably will happen."