UK voters deliver double blow to Sunak
LONDON (AP) – Voters in two districts in England delivered new blows to beleaguered Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, electing oppositionparty lawmakers in seats that Sunak’s Conservatives had held for years.
Labor Party candidate Damien Egan won the House of Commons seats of Kingswood in southwest England, and Labor’s Gen Kitchen took Wellingborough in the country’s center, results announced yesterday showed.
The Conservatives won both by large margins at the last national election in 2019 but saw support collapse in Thursday’s special elections.
The hard-right Reform UK, formerly known as the Brexit Party, came third, putting more pressure on the Conservatives.
Labor leader Keir Starmer said the results “show people want change.”
The results will likely worsen fears among Conservatives that, after 14 years in power, the party is heading for defeat when a national election is held in less than a year.
Thursday’s elections replaced two lawmakers who left suddenly, one in protest, the other under a cloud.
Lawmaker Chris Skidmore quit the Kingswood seat last month to protest Sunak’s lack of commitment to green energy. Long-serving Wellingborough legislator Peter Bone was ousted over allegations of bullying and sexual misconduct.
The Conservatives have now lost 10 by-elections since the last general election, more than any administration since the 1960s. That includes six defeats – and one win – since Sunak took office in October 2022 to replace Liz Truss, who rocked the economy with a plan for unfunded tax cuts and lasted just seven weeks in office.
Sunak, the fifth Conservative leader since 2016, has restored a measure of stability, but failed to revive the governing party’s popularity.