The Liberal Democrats, the Labor Party and the Greens are the winners of the election. In Northern Ireland, attention is focused on the outcome of the Sinn Féin election.
In Britain, the local elections on Thursday have in many places proved to be a predicted backlash for the ruling Conservatives.
Prime minister Boris Johnson the party has lost a large number of delegates and power has slipped from the party’s fingers in many places previously considered safe conservative areas.
Particularly symbolic losses are Westminster, Barnet and Wandsworth in the London area, where power is transferred to the Labor Party after decades.
In Wandsworth, conservatives have held power since 1978, and Westminster has never been in Labor power before.
Johnson was mayor of London from 2008 to 2016, and enjoyed great popularity at the time.
The Liberal Democrats and the Greens in particular have succeeded in increasing their seats since the last election. The success of the Labor Party has been more moderate in terms of the number of new delegates.
In Northern Ireland, the result may not be ready until the weekend
Thursday’s regional election elected local decision-makers in Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and parts of England.
In Scotland, the Labor Party is overtaking the Conservatives and becoming the second largest party after the Scottish National Party SNP.
Of particular interest has been the election of the Northern Ireland Regional Parliament, as the success of Sinn Féin could lead to violence. The Sinn Féin party, previously classified as the political wing of the Irish Republican Army, which carried out the terrorist attacks, supports the unification of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
For the first time, the party is expected to become the largest group in the regional parliament.
Publication of results in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales is clearly slower than in England. In Northern Ireland, the result may not clear until the weekend.
Some conservatives have made a resignation to their party
The recent sharp rise in the cost of living and the ongoing scandals between Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Conservative MPs are attributed to the ruling party’s poor election result. Outrage among voters has been aroused, for example, by a celebration at the Prime Minister’s official residence that violated interest rate restrictions and is known as a partygate scandal.
Earlier this year, Johnson, the first sitting British prime minister in history, was fined for breaking interest rates.
The various economic and sex scandals of conservative politicians and strange comments about the rise in the cost of living have also received a lot of publicity.
Indeed, during the election campaign, some local politicians resigned from their party by declaring themselves to be local conservatives, quite different from nationally conservatives.
Conservatives lead Carlisle City Council John Mallinson according to the election campaign, it was difficult to shift the debate from national scandals to local issues.
“People no longer seem to have confidence that the prime minister will tell the truth,” Mallinson said in an interview with the British broadcaster BBC.
At the same time as the Conservative Party suffered stinging losses in its traditional support areas in the south of England, it fared better in the regions of central and northern England who eagerly voted for EU secession from the EU. In these areas, Johnson’s party won a big win in the 2019 parliamentary elections.
Demands for Johnson’s resignation are likely to accelerate again
The Conservative Party has long been demanding the resignation of Boris Johnson. After a poor election result, these demands are likely to increase.
– Party leadership in Westminster must now look itself in the mirror to find reasons for losing council seats, a Conservative in Plymouth Simon Bosher recommends.
Boris Johnson has said he will take full responsibility for the election result. However, he said on Friday the election result would send an ambiguous message. He says he interprets the election result so that voters want him to focus on big and important things in the future.
He said the election was a tough experience for the party in parts of England, but he rejoices at the growing popularity of Conservatives in some localities.
Leader of the opposition Labor Party Keir Starmer declared on Friday the election result was a turning point for his party.
– Fantastic result. Really fantastic, Starmer said to his supporters in London, and anticipates the party’s rise from the bottom line of the 2019 parliamentary elections has now begun.
However, political commentators and the Labor Left have pointed out that the party’s election result outside London was not as good as one might have expected.