Election losses add to woes for British premier

Britain’s governing Conservatives suffered local election losses in their few London strongholds, according to results announced Friday that will add more pressure on Prime Minister Boris Johnson amid ethics scandals and a worsening economic picture.

Voting held Thursday for thousands of seats on more than 200 local councils was an important barometer of public opinion ahead of Britain’s next national election, which must be held by 2024.

The left-of-center opposition Labor Party, which has been out of power nationally since 2010, won control of Wandsworth, Barnet and Westminster, three London boroughs long held by the Conservatives.

Johnson’s party also lost ground to the centrist Liberal Democrats in the Conservatives’ southern England heartlands, where many middleclass voters are opposed to Brexit — a cause Johnson championed — and dismayed by lockdown rule-breaking by the prime minister and sexual misconduct allegations against other senior Tories.

With results in from most districts in England, Scotland and Wales, the Conservatives had lost more than 450 council seats and control of 10 local authorities to either Labor or the Liberal Democrats.

“We are hemorrhaging support in parts of the country. There’s some serious issues going on,” said Conservative lawmaker Tobias Ellwood.

The election came after months of turmoil for Johnson, in which he became the first prime minister to be sanctioned for breaking the law in office. He was fined 50 pounds ($62) by police for attending his own surprise birthday party in June 2020 when lockdown rules barred social gatherings.

Across the U.K., election campaigns were dominated by the increasing prices for food and fuel, which have sent household bills soaring.