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British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in London at the end of January: severe defeat for his party in by-elections

Photo: Simon Walker / dpa

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's Conservative party has again suffered major defeats in two parliamentary by-elections. The Tories lost the constituencies of Wellingborough in central England and Kingswood in the west of England to the social democratic opposition Labor Party, despite having had a large lead in each case. The bottom line is that the Conservatives have lost more seats in by-elections in this legislative period than ever since the Second World War.

The pressure on Sunak from within his own ranks is now likely to increase. Great Britain will elect a new House of Commons this year, the exact date is not yet known. Labor is clearly in the lead in all polls.

Historic bankruptcy

The by-election results showed people demanded change after 14 years of Tory government, Labor leader Keir Starmer said. Tory deputy general secretary James Daly spoke of a warning shot.

Above all, the bankruptcy in Wellingborough is historic: The Conservatives lost 37.6 percentage points compared to the previous election, the second highest loss for a British party since 1945. The by-election was necessary because the Tory MP Peter Bone was resigned due to allegations of bullying and of sexual harassment had been dismissed. Bone denies the allegations. In Kingswood, the previous Tory representative Chris Skidmore resigned in protest against Sunak's environmental and energy policies.

The Conservatives are also concerned about the strong performance of the right-wing Reform UK party, the former Brexit Party. She came from a standing start to her record result of 13 percent in Wellingborough and most likely got most of her votes from disappointed Tory voters.

Weakening economy

Sunak is also struggling with a weakening economy. According to data on Thursday, the economy slipped into recession in the second half of 2023. The former investment banker has made stimulating the economy the focus of his government work. Many voters are angry about rising costs of living, a poorly functioning public health system and strikes in public services.

Since the last Commons election in 2019, the Conservatives have won just four of 21 by-elections. The two new Labor MPs will not represent their constituencies in the House of Commons for long. The seats will be merged with other constituencies for the next general election.

aeh/dpa/Reuters