The elections were overshadowed by the scandal known as “Partygate”.
(Photo: AP)
London British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Conservative Party suffered a series of painful defeats in Thursday’s local elections. Above all, the opposition Labor Party was able to expand its strong position in London and win over long-standing Tory strongholds. After counting about a third of the vote, the Conservatives have lost more than 100 seats nationwide.
The result is a hard blow for Johnson and will further weaken the prime minister politically. However, it is not yet a defeat that could force him to resign. On the other hand, Labor has not been able to win as many voters outside of London as it had hoped.
The secret winners of the elections are apparently the Liberal Democrats, who are celebrating a resurgence as the third political force in Great Britain. The Greens also made gains.
The elections were overshadowed by the scandal known as “Partygate”. As a result, Johnson is said to have attended several parties at his government seat in Downing Street during the corona lockdown.
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However, the main issue for voters was the sharp increase in the cost of living. Rising energy, gas and food prices have driven inflation to 7 percent. The Bank of England has forecast consumer prices to increase by more than 10 percent by October. At the same time, economic growth is declining and the central bank is anticipating a recession in the coming year.
Results in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to be announced
The loss of their Wandsworth stronghold is particularly sobering for Johnson’s Tories. The party has governed the constituency south of the Thames in London for 44 years. Wandsworth was once considered the favorite of former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
The losses in their former strongholds are particularly sobering for Johnson’s Tories.
(Photo: dpa)
Westminister, another Tory stronghold in the heart of the capital, will also have a Labor majority in future. In the north of the country, on the other hand, the main opposition party did not make as much ground on its poor result in the 2019 general election as it had hoped.
The results in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are still open. The result for the Northern Ireland regional parliament in Belfast is eagerly awaited. There, pollsters are predicting a victory for the Republican Sinn Fein party, which is campaigning for the province to be reunited with the Republic of Ireland.
If the political heir to the terrorist group IRA actually becomes the strongest party, that could thwart Johnson’s confrontational course towards the EU. The British prime minister has threatened to suspend the Northern Ireland protocol of the Brexit deal. Sinn Fein is against it.
More: Johnson is fighting for his political survival