First modification: 06/05/2022 – 16:06
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The British Conservatives are retreating in important constituencies of the capital, in local elections with test value for Boris Johnson, who despite being weakened by the scandals could survive if the main opposition party obtains mitigated results.
The Labor Party, the leading opposition force, gained control of the highly symbolic Westminster district, the seat of British political power, for the first time since its creation in 1964.
And it also wrested other key London strongholds like Barnet and Wandsworth from the Conservative Party.
“Wandsworth and Westminster were iconic councils,” tweeted Gavin Barwell, former chief of staff to former Prime Minister Theresa May. “Losing them should be a wake-up call for the Conservative Party,” he stressed.
But the Conservatives, in power for 12 years, could simply be paying for the wear and tear of Johnson’s three-year term, amid discontent over soaring inflation, which could top 10% this year.
The elections were held on Thursday. This Friday morning only the votes had been counted in a third of English councils and several of those lost by the Conservative Party were not at the hands of its main rival but of the centrist Liberal-Democratic Party and the environmentalist Green Party.
The rest should be known during the day, as well as the results of these local elections, which generally mobilize voters little, in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Also read: The reasons that lead Sinn Fein to the gates of a historic victory
In this last of the four nations that make up the United Kingdom, the deputies of the autonomous regional Parliament were voted, from which the next local government must come out, which could be the scene of a true political earthquake.
Its final results are not expected until Saturday but the polls gave the first place to the republican party Sinn Fein -former political arm of the IRA, which advocates the reunification of Ireland- for the first time in the hundred years since the partition of the island, in 1921.
However, the Good Friday peace agreement, which in 1998 ended three decades of bloody conflict between Catholic Republicans and Protestant Unionists, establishes a sharing of power between the two camps. And if Sinn Fein and the unionists of the DUP do not agree, the formation of a government would be blocked.
Johnson’s survival
In England, Labor hoped to capitalize on Johnson’s loss of popularity, embroiled for months in the “partygate” scandal – the illegal parties organized in Downing Street during the 2020 and 2021 lockdowns – to reconquer worker strongholds seized by the Conservatives in the 2019 legislative elections.
The Prime Minister acknowledged that the Conservatives had a “hard night” in some constituencies, but claimed progress in others.
According to still partial results, the Conservative Party lost eight councils and almost 150 councilors compared to 2018, while Labor won five councils and more than 90 councillors.
“In London, it’s almost unbelievable that those names come off our lips. Wandsworth! They’ve been saying for years: ‘Wandsworth will never be taken from us’. We just did! Westminster! It’s an amazing result,” said Labor leader Keir. Starmer.
Whether the rest of the results will be enough to pose a threat to Johnson’s power remains to be seen.
Fined by police for having participated in a party despite being banned by covid-19 rules, the 57-year-old Conservative leader has so far resisted calls to resign after becoming the first sitting head of government. punished for breaking the law.
The police investigation is still open and Johnson could be fined again, in addition to being the subject of future investigations by a parliamentary commission that will determine if he lied to the deputies when he assured that the rules had not been broken.
Considered a “liar” by a large part of the British, according to the polls, the prime minister could see the internal rebellion revived in his Conservative Party, where some deputies contemplated the possibility of a motion of censure.
But only if the Conservatives feel that Labor’s advance threatens their stay in power. In addition, Starmer could also be investigated for a possible breach of anticovid rules last year, according to the conservative Daily Telegraph.
Con AFP
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