(LONDON) Britain’s Conservatives kept ex-Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s seat on Friday but largely lost another in a tough and potentially ominous by-election ahead of next year’s legislative elections, with a final seat still in play.
Polls closed at 10 p.m. local time (5 p.m. Eastern) and the results are revealed Friday morning.
They will set the tone for the election year which is shaping up both for the majority, at its lowest in the polls after 13 years in power, and for Labour, well placed to enter Downing Street in 2024.
Of the three seats of MPs renewed in Conservative strongholds, the latter kept that of ex-Prime Minister Boris Johnson for the constituencies of Uxbridge and South Ruislip (west of London). According to the result – surprise – Steve Tuckwell narrowly won against Labor by 13,965 votes against 13,470.
Labor was however well placed despite the unpopular forthcoming extension of the tax on polluting vehicles, decided by the town hall of his camp.
Mr Johnson resigned from Parliament with a bang due to the aftermath of ‘partygate’, the Downing Street party scandal during the pandemic.
By contrast, the Tories largely lost the seat of Somerton and Frome in south-west England. The incumbent, David Warburton, accused of cocaine consumption, was replaced by the Liberal Democrat Sarah Dyke, in favor of 21,187 votes against 10,179, while the Tories had a majority of 19,000 votes before the election.
These partials are “an opportunity to speak out on local issues,” said Deborah Willott, a 65-year-old voter met by AFP in front of a polling station set up in a church.
She cited the car tax, but also the closure of a police station or the project for a new runway at nearby Heathrow airport.
This election “is a test of how the country feels […] after several years of crises in British politics,” said Jonathan Haynes, 37, a voter in Uxbridge, where the Tories have kept their hand.
Centre-left Labor are now hoping to win in Selby and Ainsty, Yorkshire (north England), where MP Nigel Adams walked out on the heels of Boris Johnson, of whom he is an ally.
“Hard Battle”
In front of Conservative MPs on Wednesday evening, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak acknowledged that these elections were going to be a “tough battle” and called on his troops to unite, reported one of the elected officials present at the meeting, Jonathan Gullis.
The 43-year-old prime minister, who entered Downing Street last October after the forced departures of Boris Johnson, carried away by scandals, and Liz Truss, dislodged in less than two months, however avoided a scathing zero out of three.
However, even if the former investment banker seemed to bring a semblance of stability and professionalism at the start, his confidence rating fell to an all-time low this week, with 65% of Britons having an unfavorable opinion of him according to the YouGov institute.
The high inflation observed for a year, despite a slowdown to 7.9% in June, has weighed on purchasing power and Thursday’s elections coincided with strikes by railway workers and doctors in hospitals.
Redesign in sight
At the same time Rishi Sunak praised the action of his government, welcoming that four “major” laws received royal assent on Thursday, in particular the controversial texts on illegal immigration and the establishment of minimum service in the event of a strike.
“When it comes to improving people’s lives, I’m focused on action, not words,” he said in a statement.
Reinforcing the idea of a defeat announced in the legislative elections next year, the popular Minister of Defense Ben Wallace announced last week that he would not stand again, like about fifty other deputies.
He will also leave the government at the next reshuffle, expected in September. Unless Rishi Sunak renews his team this week to regain the initiative.
Opposite, Labour, well ahead in the polls, is preparing for power, under the leadership of Keir Starmer who has refocused his training after the period of the very left Jeremy Corbyn.
Having become a cantor of budgetary responsibility, he however drew the wrath of some of his troops this week by opposing better social assistance for large families. Perceived as not very charismatic, he is judged unfavorably by the majority of the British.