“British Conservative Party suffers significant losses in local elections: What this means for the future”

The British Conservative Party led by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak suffered a hard blow in his first electoral test as prime minister, in local elections held on Thursday in England.

The results of the elections, the first that Sunak faces as prime minister, were interpreted today as an indicator of where the country could lean politically ahead of the general elections scheduled for the end of next year.

Just after local noon, only the results of 163 of the 230 districts that had to elect more than 8,000 councilors were known, but the conservatives already lost almost 550 seats and control of 31 municipalities.

For his part, the opposition Labor Party obtained 339 new councilors and control of more than 10 new districtsreported the AFP news agency.

The count is not expected to conclude until tonight, as the country prepares for the coronation of Carlos III and Queen Camila tomorrow.

Sunak admitted that the results were “disappointing”although he qualified that “he did not detect any massive movement” towards the Labor opposition or “enthusiasm for his program”.

Earlier, he had indicated that “in fact, we are making progress in key electoral camps like Peterborough, Bassetlaw and Sandwell.”

The leader of the Labor Party, Keir Starmerdid not share this opinion and assured that the trend was already clear.

“Do not get wrong, we are on our way to a labor majority in the next general election“he told supporters in Medway, in south-east England, one of the town halls seized from the Conservatives, who have ruled the country for 13 years.

“We have earned the trust of the voters and now we can move on to change our country,” he said.

These local elections, traditionally low turnout, are the first since Sunak came to power just over six months ago, following the succession of Boris Johnson scandals and Liz Truss’s chaotic 49 days as head of government.

Sunak considered that the voters could sanction his party for the mistakes of his predecessors.

The most unfavorable polls predicted a drop of 1,000 councilors for the conservatives, who considered that losing less would be equivalent to a victory.

The elections held yesterday also marked a milestone because, for the first time in England, it was necessary to present an identification document with a photograph in order to exercise the right to vote.

The Electoral Commission admitted that this meant that, “unfortunately”, there were people who “could not vote.”