{"id":6782,"date":"2023-05-05T17:13:48","date_gmt":"2023-05-05T16:13:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/londonpost.news\/?p=6782"},"modified":"2023-05-05T17:37:52","modified_gmt":"2023-05-05T16:37:52","slug":"sunaks-conservatives-loose-voters-at-local-elections","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/politics\/sunaks-conservatives-loose-voters-at-local-elections\/2023\/05\/05\/admin1\/","title":{"rendered":"Sunak’s Conservatives loose voters at local elections"},"content":{"rendered":"

LONDON<\/span> (Reuters)<\/span> –<\/span> Rishi<\/span> Sunak’s<\/span> Conservative<\/span> Party<\/span> suffered<\/span> a<\/span> crushing<\/span> defeat<\/span> in<\/span> local<\/span> elections<\/span> on<\/span> Friday,<\/span> undermining<\/span> efforts<\/span> to<\/span> rebuild<\/span> the<\/span> British<\/span> prime<\/span> minister’s<\/span> fortunes<\/span> and<\/span> the<\/span> opposition<\/span> Labor<\/span> Party<\/span> will<\/span> be<\/span> encouraged<\/span> to<\/span> hold<\/span> a<\/span> referendum<\/span> next<\/span> year.<\/span>\u00a0
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Sunak<\/span> came<\/span> to<\/span> power<\/span> in<\/span> October<\/span> after<\/span> a<\/span> year<\/span> of<\/span> political<\/span> scandals,<\/span> rising<\/span> inflation<\/span> and<\/span> stagnant<\/span> economic<\/span> growth.<\/span> During<\/span> his<\/span> tenure,<\/span> he<\/span> faced<\/span> a<\/span> cost<\/span> of<\/span> living<\/span> crisis,<\/span> growing<\/span> public<\/span> health<\/span> concerns,<\/span> and<\/span> widespread<\/span> labor<\/span> unrest.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Government<\/span> parties<\/span> often<\/span> struggle<\/span> in<\/span> midterm<\/span> elections,<\/span> but<\/span> the<\/span> result<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> UK<\/span> Parliament<\/span> will<\/span> be<\/span> the<\/span> biggest<\/span> and<\/span> perhaps<\/span> final<\/span> test<\/span> of<\/span> voter<\/span> sentiment<\/span> ahead<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> next<\/span> national<\/span> elections<\/span> scheduled<\/span> for<\/span> January<\/span> 2025.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>After<\/span> the<\/span> council<\/span> majority<\/span> tallied<\/span> the<\/span> votes,<\/span> this<\/span> did<\/span> not<\/span> affect<\/span> the<\/span> government’s<\/span> majority<\/span> in<\/span> parliament,<\/span> with<\/span> the<\/span> Conservatives<\/span> losing<\/span> a<\/span> net<\/span> 460<\/span> seats,<\/span> Labor<\/span> winning<\/span> his<\/span> 260<\/span> seats<\/span> and<\/span> the<\/span> Liberal<\/span> Democrats<\/span> losing<\/span> his<\/span> 143<\/span> seats.<\/span> won<\/span> a<\/span> seat.<\/span> The<\/span> Labor<\/span> Party<\/span> said<\/span> it<\/span> was<\/span> trying<\/span> to<\/span> seize<\/span> power<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> next<\/span> general<\/span> election.<\/span> Sky<\/span> News’<\/span> predictions,<\/span> based<\/span> on<\/span> early<\/span> results’<\/span> share<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> vote,<\/span> say<\/span> Labor<\/span> could<\/span> be<\/span> the<\/span> largest<\/span> party<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> next<\/span> national<\/span> election<\/span> with<\/span> 36-38%<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> vote,<\/span> but<\/span> conservatives<\/span> Party<\/span> he<\/span> is<\/span> 28-30%.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Expectations<\/span> suggest<\/span> Labor<\/span> may<\/span> not<\/span> win<\/span> a<\/span> majority,<\/span> but<\/span> that<\/span> could<\/span> depend<\/span> on<\/span> the<\/span> outcome<\/span> in<\/span> Scotland,<\/span> which<\/span> is<\/span> vying<\/span> for<\/span> the<\/span> Scottish<\/span> National<\/span> Party’s<\/span> seat<\/span> and<\/span> does<\/span> not<\/span> hold<\/span> local<\/span> elections.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>A<\/span> similar<\/span> BBC<\/span> forecast<\/span> said<\/span> Labor<\/span> would<\/span> win<\/span> 35%<\/span> and<\/span> the<\/span> Conservatives<\/span> 26%<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> national<\/span> election,<\/span> with<\/span> some<\/span> within<\/span> Sunak’s<\/span> party<\/span> expressing<\/span> concern<\/span> about<\/span> the<\/span> outcome.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>The<\/span> Labor<\/span> Party<\/span> has<\/span> gained<\/span> control<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> Borough<\/span> Council<\/span> of<\/span> Swindon,<\/span> a<\/span> town<\/span> in<\/span> southwest<\/span> England<\/span> where<\/span> Labor<\/span> leader<\/span> Kiel<\/span> Sturmer<\/span> has<\/span> campaigned<\/span> and<\/span> voted<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> ruling<\/span> parliament<\/span> since<\/span> 1983.<\/span> “No<\/span> spin,<\/span> no<\/span> shine.<\/span> A<\/span> terrible<\/span> result,”<\/span> said<\/span> Justin<\/span> Tomlinson,<\/span> a<\/span> Conservative<\/span> MP<\/span> in<\/span> Swindon<\/span> North<\/span> parliament.<\/span> “The<\/span> party<\/span> must<\/span> take<\/span> this<\/span> together<\/span> and<\/span> take<\/span> it<\/span> as<\/span> a<\/span> wake-up<\/span> call<\/span> to<\/span> change<\/span> and<\/span> renew.”<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>“Clear”<\/span> Denial<\/span><\/strong>
\n<\/span>The<\/span> vote<\/span> was<\/span> intended<\/span> to<\/span> elect<\/span> approximately<\/span> 8,000<\/span> councilors<\/span> from<\/span> local<\/span> government<\/span> agencies<\/span> responsible<\/span> for<\/span> the<\/span> day-to-day<\/span> provision<\/span> of<\/span> services<\/span> such<\/span> as<\/span> garbage<\/span> collection<\/span> and<\/span> schools.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>In<\/span> key<\/span> seats<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> north<\/span> and<\/span> south<\/span> of<\/span> England,<\/span> Sunak’s<\/span> party<\/span> lost<\/span> to<\/span> Labor,<\/span> while<\/span> the<\/span> Liberal<\/span> Democrats<\/span> advanced<\/span> in<\/span> wealthier<\/span> areas<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> south.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Sunak<\/span> told<\/span> reporters<\/span> that<\/span> the<\/span> results<\/span> so<\/span> far<\/span> show<\/span> that<\/span> people<\/span> want<\/span> the<\/span> ruling<\/span> party<\/span> to<\/span> stick<\/span> to<\/span> its<\/span> priorities,<\/span> but<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> process<\/span> of<\/span> announcing<\/span> the<\/span> results,<\/span> it<\/span> will<\/span> remain<\/span> firm<\/span> while<\/span> the<\/span> tally<\/span> continues.<\/span> It<\/span> is<\/span> too<\/span> early<\/span> to<\/span> draw<\/span> any<\/span> conclusions.<\/span> Britain’s<\/span> most<\/span> famous<\/span> pollster<\/span> John<\/span> Curtis<\/span> said<\/span> the<\/span> results<\/span> “clearly”<\/span> rejected<\/span> the<\/span> Conservative<\/span> Party,<\/span> but<\/span> said<\/span> it<\/span> was<\/span> an<\/span> open<\/span> question<\/span> how<\/span> popular<\/span> Labor<\/span> was.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>“(Labour)<\/span> might<\/span> manage<\/span> to<\/span> win<\/span> a<\/span> majority<\/span> not<\/span> because<\/span> voters<\/span> are<\/span> crazy<\/span> about<\/span> Labor,<\/span> but<\/span> simply<\/span> because<\/span> the<\/span> Conservatives<\/span> are<\/span> not<\/span> doing<\/span> very<\/span> well,”<\/span> he<\/span> told<\/span> BBC<\/span> radio.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Sunak<\/span> took<\/span> over<\/span> as<\/span> prime<\/span> minister<\/span> and<\/span> his<\/span> third<\/span> head<\/span> of<\/span> government<\/span> last<\/span> year<\/span> after<\/span> the<\/span> scandal-plagued<\/span> premiership<\/span> of<\/span> Boris<\/span> Johnson<\/span> and<\/span> a<\/span> chaotic<\/span> economic<\/span> policy<\/span> that<\/span> ousted<\/span> Liz<\/span> Truss<\/span> in<\/span> his<\/span> two<\/span> months.<\/span> \u00a0
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Snak’s<\/span> party<\/span> lost<\/span> control<\/span> of<\/span> at<\/span> least<\/span> 26<\/span> councils<\/span> on<\/span> a<\/span> night<\/span> that<\/span> Plymouth<\/span> MP<\/span> Johnny<\/span> Mercer<\/span> described<\/span> as<\/span> a<\/span> “terrible”<\/span> night<\/span> for<\/span> the<\/span> Conservatives.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

LONDON (Reuters) – Rishi Sunak’s Conservative Party suffered a crushing defeat in local elections on Friday, undermining efforts to rebuild the British prime minister’s fortunes and the opposition Labor Party will be encouraged to hold a referendum next year.\u00a0 Sunak came to power in October after a year of political scandals, rising inflation and stagnant […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6784,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":""},"categories":[280,2395],"tags":[4621,4622,4623,4624,4625,4626,4627,4628,4629,1722,4630,2314,4631,4407,4632,4412,4633,4618,4634,4619,4635,4620,4636],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/rishisunak.jpg","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6782"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6782"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6782\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6785,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6782\/revisions\/6785"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6784"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6782"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6782"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6782"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}