Conservative Party suffers crushing defeat in local elections and losses widen
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Rishi Sunak's Conservative Party has suffered heavy electoral defeats in many parts of England and Wales, and the Prime Minister is struggling to avoid defeat in the general election, but for now he is in safe hands.
The results confirmed the fears of Conservative MPs, with the British Prime Minister calling the loss of Conservative MPs “disappointing”, and Labor winning seats in election battlegrounds across the country.
In the last major test of public opinion before this year's expected general election, the Conservatives have lost almost half of the seats they had defended, with most of the parliamentary results announced.
They also suffered a crushing defeat in the Blackpool South parliamentary by-election, with a 26% swing from Conservative to Labor, the third largest swing since the Second World War.
According to Pennsylvania data, the Conservatives held on to 427 seats by Friday evening, losing a net loss of 348 seats. Labor won 199 seats, giving it a total of 1,017 seats.
Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer paid a celebratory visit to Rishi Sunak's Richmond constituency, part of Labour's won New York and North Yorkshire mayoral elections, calling it a “very good day” for the party. said.
The result suggested Mr Starmer was on track to win the general election, but it would not be a landslide. “This is clearly a bad result for the Conservatives,” said James Johnson, a pollster and co-founder of JL Partners. But he added that Labor needed to do better in the general election to win a sizable majority.
The BBC's national equivalent vote share forecast is for Labor to get 34%, Conservatives 25%, Liberal Democrats 17% and others 24%, but the polling organization predicts that people will vote in the general election. It has been pointed out that these are often different. Most national opinion polls show Labor with a 20 point lead.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the BBC's forecast reflected the nine-point lead that Labor gained in last year's local elections, which was widely seen as enough to win a marginal majority, and which was widely seen as enough to secure a marginal majority.・This is significantly lower than the 17-point national vote lead expected by Blair. The 1997 Labor landslide.
Mr Sunak appeared to have some breathing room after the threat of a Tory rebellion against his leadership receded. The victory of Sir Ben Houchen, a prominent Conservative mayor of the Tees Valley, has eased tensions among Tory MPs.
Mr Houchen, a local favorite who had distanced himself from Mr Sunak and the Conservative Party during the election campaign, lost the votes and won a majority of 18,789. He did not wear a blue rosette when he was an earl.
The Conservatives are also hoping West Midlands Mayor Andy Street, who has prioritized former Prime Minister Boris Johnson's support over Mr Sunak's, will win a third term when votes are counted on Saturday. Labor insiders said Mr Starmer's position on the war in Gaza may have cost the party Muslim votes in the region.
All eyes were on the London mayoral race on Saturday, with rumors swirling that Conservative candidate Susan Hall had defied the polls and narrowly defeated Labor incumbent Sadiq Khan.
On Friday, Sunak's right-wing Conservative critics backed away from an attempt to topple him, but urged him to move to the right. One opposition source said some Tory MPs were looking to “break away” and the Tees Valley result gave the prime minister an excuse not to challenge the outcome.
Johnson supporter Dame Andrea Jenkins, who tabled a letter of no confidence in Sunak last November, told the BBC: “It seems unlikely that MPs will table a letter, so we have to work together. It must be done,” he said.
The prediction that the Conservatives could lose half of the parliamentary seats they hold is based on the results of 71 of the 107 contested parliaments. Voters in parts of England and Wales were electing mayors, police and crime commissioners.
Veteran election expert Sir John Curtis said the result was “nearly disastrous” for the Conservative Party, calling it “one of the worst results, if not the worst” for the party in local elections in the past 40 years. He said it was.
Mr Starmer's focus on Friday was Labour's victory in the Blackpool South by-election, where new MP Chris Webb defeated Conservative David Jones with 26 per cent support. Reform Britain came in a close third place, just 117 votes behind the Conservatives.
Labor won the seat with a majority of 7,607 votes, overturning the Conservatives' majority of 3,690 votes. The seat was previously held by Scott Benton, who was forced to resign following a lobbying scandal.
Reform UK, founded by former Brexit Party member Nigel Farage, fielded candidates in just 12% of contested parliamentary seats, but one of the party's campaign focuses was on Black voters. He secured 17% of the vote in Poole South.
Reform Britain has split the right-wing vote, and that threat could become even stronger in a general election with candidates running across the country.
It wasn't all good news for Labor. The party lost control of Oldham City Council in Greater Manchester after losing several seats to independents running a pro-Palestinian platform. He also lost his seat in Newcastle.
Labour's election co-ordinator Pat McFadden admitted the Gaza war was costing the party votes. “There's no denying that this is a factor in some parts of the country,” he says.
Ask George Parker and colleagues your questions in a webinar for FT subscribers on Wednesday 8 May from 13:00 to 14:00 UK time (GMT+1).Please register at ft.com/ukwebinar
Summarize this content to 100 words Unlock Editor's Digest for freeFT editor Roula Khalaf has chosen her favorite stories in this weekly newsletter.Rishi Sunak's Conservative Party has suffered heavy electoral defeats in many parts of England and Wales, and the Prime Minister is struggling to avoid defeat in the general election, but for now he is in safe hands.The results confirmed the fears of Conservative MPs, with the British Prime Minister calling the loss of Conservative MPs “disappointing”, and Labor winning seats in election battlegrounds across the country.In the last major test of public opinion before this year's expected general election, the Conservatives have lost almost half of the seats they had defended, with most of the parliamentary results announced. They also suffered a crushing defeat in the Blackpool South parliamentary by-election, with a 26% swing from Conservative to Labor, the third largest swing since the Second World War. According to Pennsylvania data, the Conservatives held on to 427 seats by Friday evening, losing a net loss of 348 seats. Labor won 199 seats, giving it a total of 1,017 seats.Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer paid a celebratory visit to Rishi Sunak's Richmond constituency, part of Labour's won New York and North Yorkshire mayoral elections, calling it a “very good day” for the party. said.The result suggested Mr Starmer was on track to win the general election, but it would not be a landslide. “This is clearly a bad result for the Conservatives,” said James Johnson, a pollster and co-founder of JL Partners. But he added that Labor needed to do better in the general election to win a sizable majority. The BBC's national equivalent vote share forecast is for Labor to get 34%, Conservatives 25%, Liberal Democrats 17% and others 24%, but the polling organization predicts that people will vote in the general election. It has been pointed out that these are often different. Most national opinion polls show Labor with a 20 point lead.Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the BBC's forecast reflected the nine-point lead that Labor gained in last year's local elections, which was widely seen as enough to win a marginal majority, and which was widely seen as enough to secure a marginal majority.・This is significantly lower than the 17-point national vote lead expected by Blair. The 1997 Labor landslide. A snapshot of the interactive graphic is shown. This is most likely because you are offline or have JavaScript disabled in your browser.Mr Sunak appeared to have some breathing room after the threat of a Tory rebellion against his leadership receded. The victory of Sir Ben Houchen, a prominent Conservative mayor of the Tees Valley, has eased tensions among Tory MPs.Mr Houchen, a local favorite who had distanced himself from Mr Sunak and the Conservative Party during the election campaign, lost the votes and won a majority of 18,789. He did not wear a blue rosette when he was an earl.The Conservatives are also hoping West Midlands Mayor Andy Street, who has prioritized former Prime Minister Boris Johnson's support over Mr Sunak's, will win a third term when votes are counted on Saturday. Labor insiders said Mr Starmer's position on the war in Gaza may have cost the party Muslim votes in the region.All eyes were on the London mayoral race on Saturday, with rumors swirling that Conservative candidate Susan Hall had defied the polls and narrowly defeated Labor incumbent Sadiq Khan.On Friday, Sunak's right-wing Conservative critics backed away from an attempt to topple him, but urged him to move to the right. One opposition source said some Tory MPs were looking to “break away” and the Tees Valley result gave the prime minister an excuse not to challenge the outcome.Johnson supporter Dame Andrea Jenkins, who tabled a letter of no confidence in Sunak last November, told the BBC: “It seems unlikely that MPs will table a letter, so we have to work together. It must be done,” he said.A snapshot of the interactive graphic is shown. This is most likely because you are offline or have JavaScript disabled in your browser.The prediction that the Conservatives could lose half of the parliamentary seats they hold is based on the results of 71 of the 107 contested parliaments. Voters in parts of England and Wales were electing mayors, police and crime commissioners.Veteran election expert Sir John Curtis said the result was “nearly disastrous” for the Conservative Party, calling it “one of the worst results, if not the worst” for the party in local elections in the past 40 years. He said it was.A snapshot of the interactive graphic is shown. This is most likely because you are offline or have JavaScript disabled in your browser.Mr Starmer's focus on Friday was Labour's victory in the Blackpool South by-election, where new MP Chris Webb defeated Conservative David Jones with 26 per cent support. Reform Britain came in a close third place, just 117 votes behind the Conservatives.Labor won the seat with a majority of 7,607 votes, overturning the Conservatives' majority of 3,690 votes. The seat was previously held by Scott Benton, who was forced to resign following a lobbying scandal. Reform UK, founded by former Brexit Party member Nigel Farage, fielded candidates in just 12% of contested parliamentary seats, but one of the party's campaign focuses was on Black voters. He secured 17% of the vote in Poole South.Reform Britain has split the right-wing vote, and that threat could become even stronger in a general election with candidates running across the country. A snapshot of the interactive graphic is shown. This is most likely because you are offline or have JavaScript disabled in your browser.It wasn't all good news for Labor. The party lost control of Oldham City Council in Greater Manchester after losing several seats to independents running a pro-Palestinian platform. He also lost his seat in Newcastle.Labour's election co-ordinator Pat McFadden admitted the Gaza war was costing the party votes. “There's no denying that this is a factor in some parts of the country,” he says.A snapshot of the interactive graphic is shown. This is most likely because you are offline or have JavaScript disabled in your browser.Ask George Parker and colleagues your questions in a webinar for FT subscribers on Wednesday 8 May from 13:00 to 14:00 UK time (GMT+1).Please register at ft.com/ukwebinarVideo: Sketchy Politics: Can Sunak be saved?
https://www.ft.com/content/115ae751-de12-43b3-9bb3-380ea9d510f2 Conservative Party suffers crushing defeat in local elections and losses widen
