Owner Sadiq Khan was considered the favorite in Thursday’s poll. However, rumors began to circulate on Friday that conservative challenger Susan Hall could win in a completely unexpected way. The reasons given were the low turnout among Labor voters and discontent on the fringes about the expansion of the low emission zone. As the broadcaster Sky News reported late in the evening, both camps assumed that Khan would take a historic third term in office.
Sunak hopes to succeed in the West Midlands
Saturday’s mayoral election results are also expected in the West Midlands region around the megacity of Birmingham. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak hoped the Tory leader would win Andrew Street after his Tory party’s disastrous results in the local elections. Success would also ease pressure on Sunak from within his own organization, experts stressed.
However, the results so far have been overwhelming for Sunak. After almost all the votes were counted, the Conservatives lost about half of the seats they had to defend. There were bitter losses in strongholds such as Gloucester in the south-west, where the Tories had ruled for 20 years, and Thurrock, east of London. The Prime Minister was disappointed.
The opposition Labor party sees their success story confirmed. Party leader Keir Starmer called on Sunak to announce a date for the general election. So far the Prime Minister has only announced a date in the second half of the year.
“The Tories have lost their government mandate”
Election researcher John Curtice calculated for the BBC that the Tories would only get 25 per cent of the vote if the results were repeated in a general election. “The Tories have lost their governing mandate, and voters are unlikely to give them any credit for improvements in the areas of greatest concern – the economy and migration,” said political scientist Mark Garnett of the German Press Agency.
It will now be exciting to see if there is a major revolt against Sunak within the party – “hopefully a new face could help voters forget the last 14 years,” he said. the expert from Lancaster University The Tories have been in power since 2010.
The threat from the right
2024-05-04 08:01:37
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