Since taking power in 2010, the Conservatives have been widely expected to lose the general election.
London, England:
Britain’s ruling Conservatives lost another two parliamentary seats to Labor in a by-election on Friday, dealing an ominous new blow to embattled Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
The losses capped a scary week for the British leader, who is struggling to revive support for his embattled party as official data showed Britain slipped into recession after the economy contracted for two straight quarters.
The Conservatives, in power since 2010, are widely expected to lose the general election Sunak, 43, has said will be held in the second half of this year.
Labor’s main opposition defeated the Conservatives in a by-election on Thursday in a contest that came after one Conservative MP resigned and another faced a recall petition for bullying staff.
“The Conservatives have failed. Rishi’s recession proves it. That’s why we’re seeing so many former Tory voters switching straight to a changed Labour,” its leader Keir Starmer said in praise of the “brilliant” Said at the end.
“People want change and are ready to believe that a changed Labor Party can deliver that.”
Conservative deputy leader James Daley called the losses “disappointing” but insisted Starmer had “no love”.
Latest losses
The by-election highlights the struggle Sunak faces to secure a fifth consecutive term for the Conservatives.
The party lost a series of traditionally safe seats to Labor and the smaller centrist Lib Dems.
During Sunak’s 15-month tenure as prime minister, former prosecutor Starmer and his party held a double-digit lead over the Conservatives in most opinion polls.
He succeeds Liz Truss, who was ousted after her tax-cut economic agenda spooked markets and lost support.
Support for the Conservative Party has plummeted as Britain experiences its worst cost-of-living crisis in decades since the pandemic.
Factional infighting and chaotic rule have also resulted in three prime ministers since autumn 2022.
A record 21 by-elections have now been held since the last general election in 2019, many of which were the result of inappropriate behavior by Conservative MPs. The Conservatives lost overwhelmingly.
The party has lost more by-elections in a single parliament than any government since Harold Wilson’s Labor government of 1966-70, when it lost 15 by-elections.
large fluctuations
Thursday’s games take place in Wellingborough in central England and Kingswood in the south-west.
Former Wellingborough Conservative MP Peter Bone has been suspended after an investigation found he engaged in bullying and sexual misconduct against a staff member.
Bowen’s partner Helen Harrison was selected as Bowen’s replacement candidate in the seat that has been held by the party since 2005.
Labor defeated 18,540 voters by 28.5 per cent, the second-highest ever vote for 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 step up oil and gas drilling in the North Sea.
Labor had won the Conservative seat since 2010, but it was abolished at the general election due to the redrawing of constituency boundaries, with nearly 45% of the vote.
Sunak will also be troubled by the fact that the fringe right-wing Reform UK Party (formerly known as the Brexit Party) has exceeded 10% support for the first time, indicating that his party is losing voters on the right and Labor voters.
The victory would be a welcome respite for the opposition party, which also endured a difficult week after two potential MPs were suspended over anti-Semitism charges.
One has been selected to stand in this month’s by-election in Rochdale, near Manchester, triggered by the death of a senior Labor MP.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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