Damian Eggen (centre), Labor candidate in the Wellenborough constituency, after his victory in the by-elections in the town in central England (Getty)
The opposition Labor Party in Britain inflicted a new defeat on the ruling Conservative Party in by-elections, enhancing its chances of winning the legislative elections scheduled to be held later this year.
The Labor Party candidates defeated their Conservative rivals in the Wellenborough constituencies in central England and Kingswood in the south, which would put Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in a more difficult situation.
According to the official results, Labor achieved a victory by more than 7,000 votes in Wellenborough and more than 3,000 votes in Kingswood, which pollster John Curtis considered “the worst defeat in a by-election ever” for the ruling party.
Thus, the ruling majority has lost 10 by-elections since the legislative elections held in December 2019, the worst result for any British government since the 1960s.
Labor Party leader Keir Starmer (the most likely to assume prime ministership after the upcoming legislative elections) welcomed this “wonderful” victory, and said that the result of the by-elections shows that people want change and are ready to give their trust to his party.
Starmer added that the Conservatives failed, and that the economic recession that Britain entered confirms this, speaking about the transition of Conservative voters to the Labor Party.
On the other hand, the British Prime Minister said on Friday that the defeat suffered by the Conservatives shows that the party has a lot of work to do before the next general elections, while his deputy, James Daly, described the result as disappointing for the ruling majority, but he downplayed the importance of Starmer’s statements about... Conservative voters move to Labour.
In addition to the loss to the Labor Party, the Conservatives faced a threat from the far right, with the Reform Party obtaining about 4,000 votes in the Wellenborough constituency, and the leader of the ruling party, Richard Holden, said that a vote for the Reform Party is a vote for the Labor Party.
While Sunak promised to revive the economy, the United Kingdom entered a recession in the second quarter of last year after high interest rates and inflation placed a great burden on families and companies.
Sunak's critics fear that the Conservative Party will suffer a crushing defeat in the upcoming legislative elections, and want him to change his policies.
Source: Agencies