London: Britain’s ruling Conservatives lost a parliamentary seat to main opposition Labor on Friday as local election results put more pressure on leader Rishi Sunak.
Labor has captured the Blackpool South constituency in north-west England and looks set to lose the next general election.
The vote, sparked by a lobbying scandal that saw Conservative MPs in the area resign, was held on Thursday with voters casting their ballots in council, mayoral and other local contests across England.
Labour’s Chris Webb won 26.3 per cent of the vote – the third largest margin for Labor over the Conservatives in a by-election since the Second World War.
“This seismic victory in Blackpool South is the most important result today,” said Labor leader Keir Starmer, who will become Britain’s next prime minister.
The poll represents the biggest ballot box test before Sunak heads to the country in general elections expected in the second half of the year.
The Tory incumbent, who has ruled nationally since 2010 and is defending hundreds of seats in the last local elections in 2021, will lose weight.
Preliminary results show Labor making gains in council seats, but all eyes are on regional and key London mayoral races, with results expected only on Monday and Saturday.
The capital’s Labor mayor Sadiq Khan is expected to easily win a third term, but mayoral contests in the West Midlands and the Tees Valley in north-east England are expected to be tough.
Labor opposition victory in both constituencies will be hailed as evidence that voters are ready to return the party to national power.
- Right hand lifter-
A poor showing in the British parliament at Westminster has led to speculation that Tory MPs could replace Sunnah, who has been in charge since October 2022.
Conservative MPs sacked Sunagh’s predecessors Liz Truss and Boris Johnson, and the party had five prime ministers in the 2016 referendum to leave the European Union.
Winning for Tory incumbents in the West Midlands and Tees Valley will raise hopes that the embattled leader can still revive his fortunes.
But with the Tories under fire across the country on issues ranging from water pollution to transport and inflation, Street and Houchen distanced themselves from the party during the campaign.
Voters predict the Conservatives could lose up to half of the 1,000 council seats they hold in towns, cities and counties across England.
“We are probably seeing one of the worst Conservative performances in local elections in 40 years,” election expert John Curtis told BBC radio.
The defeat in Blackpool South was Johnson’s 11th parliamentary election defeat since Johnson won the last general election in 2019.
This is the most used by any government in a parliament since the late 1960s. Sunak is responsible for seven of them.
He came second in Blackpool South ahead of Reform England, which worried the Conservatives and threatened to squeeze the right-wing vote in the general election.
The party linked to arch-Eurosceptic Nigel Farage was the best performer in the general election, taking 17 percent of the vote.
