It is a setback that could be costly. Boris Johnson’s Conservative Party lost one of its strongholds in central England in a by-election, official results reported early on Friday December 17, a severe snub for the British Prime Minister already weakened.
The partial legislature of North Shropshire, a very rural constituency long acquired by the Conservatives, was thus won by the Liberal Democrats. The candidate of the small Europhile party, Helen Morgan, won with 47% of the vote, nearly 6,000 votes ahead of her conservative rival.
Two years after his triumph in the general election, won on the promise of achieving Brexit, Boris Johnson, 57, now risks a serious crisis of authority among the Tories, or even a vote of no confidence to replace him as head of the majority and therefore the government.
Voters expressed “clearly” to Boris Johnson that “the party is over”, Helen Morgan said in her speech after the announcement of her victory. “Your government, led by lies and swagger, will be held to account”, she added, “he can and will be defeated”.
The new 46-year-old MP thus robs the Conservatives of the seat of Owen Paterson, in office since 1997, who had to resign over a lobbying affair. Boris Johnson had come last month to the candidate’s rescue by trying to change the disciplinary rules of Parliament, before backing down in the face of the outcry even in his own camp.
This scandal, which is part of a long series of embarrassing cases – from accusations of corruption in his party to those of violations of health restrictions – has weakened Boris Johnson. Long armored, the leader’s popularity collapsed and recent polls on voting intentions put the Labor opposition several points ahead of the opposition.