Labour is tipped to win two more seats
British voters went to the polls on Thursday to elect two MPs, with the opposition Labour Party expected to win parliamentary seats in central and southwestern England and deal another blow to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak ’ s Conservatives.
The Conservatives have done little to win over voters in Wellingborough in central England and Kingswood in the southwest, preferring to focus on Sunak’s bid to regain ground across the country before this year’s general election.
But defeats in the by-elections will do little to silence Sunak ’ s critics, who fear the governing party faces almost a wipeout at the polls, which the prime minister says he expects in the second half of the year.
Sunak has pinned his hopes on having time to close the large gap with Labour in the polls and to capitalise on the difficulties the opposition party has had with anti-Semitism allegations and its now-scrapped green spending target.
“It has been a rocky week for the Labour Party, but our markets suggest they are still on course to claim a convincing victory in both the Wellingborough and Kingswood by-elections this Thursday,” said a spokesperson for bookmakers William Hill. The results are expected early on Friday.
While Labour sent many of its MPs and activists to campaign in both constituencies, the Conservatives have had a muted presence, with many MPs concentrating more on trying to hold onto their own seats before the national election.
The Conservatives had large majorities in both seats. The contest in Wellingborough was triggered by the former MP being forced out over a bullying and harassment scandal.
In Kingswood, former minister Chris Skidmore resigned because of Sunak’s climate change policies.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer faced criticism this week for not moving immediately to censure a Labour candidate in a separate vote who was recorded espousing conspiracy theories about Israel.
But the governing party has also not been without its issues. Statistics on Thursday showed the economy slipped into recession in the second half of 2023, a challenge for Sunak who has made boosting economic growth a main pledge before the general election.
Labour was keen to manage expectations as voting took place.
“Labour is really up against it in these by-elections,” said a Labour source. “We ’ ve focused relentlessly on the cost-of-living crisis following 14 years of chaotic Tory failure, and we’re fighting for every vote, but winning these seats was always going to be a massive challenge for us.” /
WINNING THESE SEATS WAS ALWAYS GOING TO BE A MASSIVE CHALLENGE FOR US [LABOUR]