Britain’s ruling Conservative Party yesterday lost two more parliamentary seats to Labour in by-elections, dealing an ominous new blow to embattled Prime Minister Rishi Sunak ahead of a full national vote.
The losses capped a dire week for the British leader, struggling to revive support for his beleaguered party, as official data showed Britain is in recession after economic contraction for two successive quarters.
In power since 2010, the Conservatives are widely expected to lose the general election that Sunak, 43, has said he would call in the second half of the year.
Photo: Reuters
The main Labour opposition secured its second largest by-election swing away from the Conservatives in one of Thursday’s contests, held after a Conservative lawmaker quit and another faced a recall petition over bullying his staff.
“The Tories have failed. Rishi’s recession proves that. That’s why we’ve seen so many former Conservative voters switching directly to this changed Labour Party,” Labour Party leader Keir Starmer said as he hailed the “fantastic” results.
“People want change and are ready to put their faith in a changed Labour Party to deliver it,” he said.
Photo: AFP
Conservative Deputy Chair James Daly called the losses “disappointing,” but insisted there was “no love” for Starmer.
The by-elections highlight the struggle Sunak faces if he is to secure a fifth consecutive term in power for the Conservatives.
The party has a lost a string of traditionally safe seats to Labour and the smaller centrist Liberal Democrats.
Former chief prosecutor Starmer and his party have enjoyed double-digit leads over the Conservatives in most opinion polls throughout Sunak’s 15-month tenure as prime minister.
He replaced Liz Truss, who was ousted after her tax-cutting economic agenda spooked markets and lost support. The Conservatives’ popularity has plummeted, as Britain has endured the worst cost-of-living crisis in decades since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Factional infighting and chaotic rule have also led to three prime ministers since autumn 2022.
A record 21 by-elections have now been held since the last general election in 2019, many as a result of misconduct committed by Conservative lawmakers. The Conservatives were defeated in the vast majority.
The party has now lost more by-elections in a single parliament than any government since the 1966-1970 Labour administration of Harold Wilson, which suffered 15.
Thursday’s contests were held in Wellingborough, England, and in Kingswood, in the southwest.
Former Wellingborough Conservative MP Peter Bone was suspended from parliament after an inquiry found he had subjected a staff member to bullying and sexual misconduct.
Bone’s partner, Helen Harrison, was controversially selected as his replacement candidate in the seat, held by the party since 2005.
Labour overcame a majority of 18,540 by scoring a 28.5 percent swing — its second-largest ever from the Conservatives in a by-election.
The vote in Kingswood, near Bristol, was triggered by Chris Skidmore’s resignation as an MP in protest at Sunak’s plans to boost North Sea oil and gas drilling.
Labour won the seat — Conservative since 2010, but due to be abolished for the general election under the redrawing of constituency boundaries — with nearly 45 percent of the vote.
Sunak will also be unnerved by fringe right-wingers Reform UK — formerly the Brexit Party — securing more than 10 percent for the first time, suggesting his party is losing voters to the right as well as Labour.
The wins will be welcome respite for the opposition party, after it also endured a difficult week following the suspension of two prospective MPs over allegations of anti-Semitism.
One had been selected to contest a by-election this month, in Rochdale, near Manchester, which has been sparked by the death of a veteran Labour MP.
DEBT BREAK: Friedrich Merz has vowed to do ‘whatever it takes’ to free up more money for defense and infrastructure at a time of growing geopolitical uncertainty Germany’s likely next leader Friedrich Merz was set yesterday to defend his unprecedented plans to massively ramp up defense and infrastructure spending in the Bundestag as lawmakers begin debating the proposals. Merz unveiled the plans last week, vowing his center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU)/Christian Social Union (CSU) bloc and the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) — in talks to form a coalition after last month’s elections — would quickly push them through before the end of the current legislature. Fraying Europe-US ties under US President Donald Trump have fueled calls for Germany, long dependent on the US security umbrella, to quickly
RARE EVENT: While some cultures have a negative view of eclipses, others see them as a chance to show how people can work together, a scientist said Stargazers across a swathe of the world marveled at a dramatic red “Blood Moon” during a rare total lunar eclipse in the early hours of yesterday morning. The celestial spectacle was visible in the Americas and Pacific and Atlantic oceans, as well as in the westernmost parts of Europe and Africa. The phenomenon happens when the sun, Earth and moon line up, causing our planet to cast a giant shadow across its satellite. But as the Earth’s shadow crept across the moon, it did not entirely blot out its white glow — instead the moon glowed a reddish color. This is because the
Romania’s electoral commission on Saturday excluded a second far-right hopeful, Diana Sosoaca, from May’s presidential election, amid rising tension in the run-up to the May rerun of the poll. Earlier this month, Romania’s Central Electoral Bureau barred Calin Georgescu, an independent who was polling at about 40 percent ahead of the rerun election. Georgescu, a fierce EU and NATO critic, shot to prominence in November last year when he unexpectedly topped a first round of presidential voting. However, Romania’s constitutional court annulled the election after claims of Russian interference and a “massive” social media promotion in his favor. On Saturday, an electoral commission statement
Chinese authorities increased pressure on CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd over its plan to sell its Panama ports stake by sharing a second newspaper commentary attacking the deal. The Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office on Saturday reposted a commentary originally published in Ta Kung Pao, saying the planned sale of the ports by the Hong Kong company had triggered deep concerns among Chinese people and questioned whether the deal was harming China and aiding evil. “Why were so many important ports transferred to ill-intentioned US forces so easily? What kind of political calculations are hidden in the so-called commercial behavior on the
RSS