The losing streak of the ruling Conservative Party in Britain continues, writes Britannia correspondent Kirsi Crowley.
Kirsi Crowley Britannian correspondent
LONDON The electoral defeat of the Conservative Party in the local elections in England was not a surprise. The enormity of the loss is not surprising either. British newspapers write that the loss was the biggest in 40 years.
The party lost nearly 400 representatives to the opposition Labor Party and the Liberal Party. A by-election for the lower house of parliament was also organized in Blackpool. That’s where the representative of the Labor Party rose from the conservatives’ territory with a strong majority.
In England and Wales, the people elected a total of two thousand new councilors in 107 local government areas. In London and ten other City Regions, there was also a vote for the mayor.
The ruling Conservative Party’s greatest joy was the victory of the mayor’s seat in the Tees Valley region of Northern England.
The election itself was not big. It only affected about a third of the jurisdictions in England and Wales. But the election had a bigger meaning. It was the last election before the parliamentary elections to be held by the end of this year.
The local elections proved itthat trust in the conservatives who ruled Britain for 14 years has eroded.
The decline has been going on for a long time. The people blame the party for the miserable state of the economy and public healthcare.
In the embattled Conservative Party, there has been pressure to change the prime minister before the election. But Rishi Sun too there would hardly be a taker for the laundry. Who wants to take the leader’s place just before the party is threatened with inevitable election defeat.
Competing wings are now pulling Sunak in opposite directions in their attempts to save the party before the parliamentary elections. The far-right conservatives are demanding even more radical politics from him and far-right people in leading positions.
Even the new law on sending asylum seekers to Rwanda is not radical enough for them. The moderates, on the other hand, want Sunak to take a middle-of-the-road line that would appeal to as many people as possible and mediate disputes with, for example, the European Court of Human Rights.
According to opinion polls, the Labor Party will win the election by throwing. Reform UK, which rose from the ashes of the former Brexit party, has also grown in popularity.
The populist party received almost as many votes as the Conservatives in the Blackpool by-election. A party that fishes for votes violently threatens the votes of the conservative party in the parliamentary elections.
It was visible in the local elections also one feature that deserves attention. The situation in Gaza has become an election issue. London and elsewhere have seen massive demonstrations in favor of a ceasefire in Gaza since October.
Labor lost votes in some Muslim-majority constituencies to independent candidates who campaigned loudly for the Palestinians. Voters are unhappy with Labour’s Gaza policy. It lost votes in some constituencies
The opposition demands the prime minister to organize the elections as soon as possible. It’s unlikely to happen. The elections must be held no later than the beginning of next year.
Leader of the Labor Party Keir Starmer said in Blackpool that voters sent Sunak a message that they had had enough of the party’s decline, chaos and division and the people wanted change.
That change may have to wait until the end of the year. Conservatives have no reason to let go of power until they have to.
The party hopes that the economy will improve by the turn of the year and bring votes. It also hopes that the sending of asylum seekers to Rwanda will be speeded up soon. With this, it attracts a large number of voters who oppose illegal immigration.
Conservative MP for Thurrock Local Council Andrew Jefferies summed up the situation for the BBC. Rishi Sunak needs to give voters a reason to vote Conservative. So far, according to the voters, it does not seem to be in sight.