The results of the British special elections, if replicated at a likely general election next year, would certainly see Labour emerge as the biggest single party.
Britain’s governing Conservative Party suffered two thumping defeats Friday in a trio of special elections but avoided a drubbing after holding onto former premier Boris Johnson’s seat in suburban London.
Though the main opposition Labour Party and the smaller centrist Liberal Democrats overturned massive Conservative majorities to win a seat apiece, the Conservatives found some crumbs of comfort in their narrow success in Uxbridge and South Ruislip in west London.
Still, the results of Thursday’s elections, if replicated at a likely general election next year, would certainly see Labour emerge as the biggest single party, possibly with a sizable overall majority. Despite holding onto Johnson’s former seat by just 495 votes, the three election results show the Conservatives losing ground across a broad range of voters: suburban Londoners, small-town-dwellers in the north of England and rural residents in the southwest.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak headed straight off to the scene of his party’s sole electoral success and noted that governments often find midterm elections difficult.
«The message I take away is that we’ve got to double down, stick to our plan and deliver for people,» he said in a cafe in Ruislip.
