Votes were counted in two British constituency by-elections held on the 15th, both of which were won by the largest opposition party, the Labor Party, led by leader Starmer. The ruling Conservative Party won by large margins in both constituencies in the previous election, but this is a reversal, and this is a major victory for Labor ahead of the general election expected to be held within the year.
Wellingborough in central England is a constituency that the Conservative Party has held since 2005, with the Conservatives receiving 62.2% of the vote and Labor 26.5% in the last election. This time, 28.5 points of votes flowed from the Conservatives to Labor, giving Labor victory. This is the second largest vote shift in history between the two parties. In Kingswood, in the south-east, Labor took 16.4 points from the Conservatives, well above what analysts believe Labor would need to win a majority if it were repeated in the general election.
Labor leader Starmer
Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg
Meanwhile, the anti-immigration party Reform UK, founded by Nigel Farage, who led the campaign to leave the European Union, performed well in both constituencies, leading Conservative election strategists to worry about splitting the right-wing vote. That’s it.
John Curtis, a political science professor at the University of Strathclyde and an expert on British elections, told the BBC that Starmer was “on track to take over”. He said the reversal in Wellingborough highlighted “voter rejection” of the Conservative government’s performance.
This painful defeat also gave Prime Minister Sunak the ignominious record of having lost more by-elections in a single term than any government since the 1960s. This week it emerged that Britain’s economy entered recession in the second half of last year, denting confidence in the Prime Minister’s key pledge to grow the economy.
news-rsf-original-reference paywall">Original title:Labour’s Double Election Win Sees Big Swing Away from Tory Party(excerpt)
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2024-02-16 10:43:19
