LAST UPDATE: 10:21
The British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his Conservative Party today suffered painful defeats in two local elections, especially in a constituency in the south-west of England that was considered “safe”, a stronghold of the Tories for over a century.
The Conservatives lost this seat, in Tiverton and Honiton, to the centrist Liberal Democrats and another, this one in Wakefield (northern England) to the main opposition, the Labor Party.
In the first case, the Tories lost by a spectacular margin of about 24,000 votes, in the second by a difference of almost 5,000 votes.
The president of the Conservative Party resigned
The leader of the Conservative Party in Britain, Oliver Douden, today submitted his resignation to Prime Minister Boris Johnson after a series of “very bad election results”, after the Tories lost in two local elections.
“These defeats” are the latest in a series of very bad results for our party, “Duden said in his letter, adding that” we can not continue as if nothing had happened. ”
“Someone has to take responsibility and I came to the conclusion that, in the current circumstances, it would not be right for me to remain in my position,” he said.
Johnson’s Conservative Party suffered heavy defeats in two local elections, particularly in a “safe” constituency in the south-west of England, which had been a Tory stronghold for over a century.
The Conservatives lost to the center-right Liberal Democrats a seat in Tiverton and Honiton, which has been in favor of the Tories since its inception in 1997, by more than 6,000 votes.
The Labor Party won the seat in Wakefield (northern England), a traditional stronghold of the party which it had lost in the December 2019 elections, in which the Conservatives had swept.
The by-elections in Wakefield were sparked by the resignation of MP Imran Khan, who was sentenced to 18 months in prison for sexually assaulting a 15-year-old teenager.
The constituency was in the hands of the Labor Party continuously from 1932 until 2019.
In Tiverton and Honiton, voters were called upon to elect Neil Paris’ replacement. The 65-year-old MP submitted his resignation after admitting that he was looking at pornographic material on his mobile phone in the hall of the House of Commons.
Two weeks after Johnson survived the not-so-glorious motion of censure on the “partygate”, the loss of two seats in the House of Commons for the Tories in two politically significant constituencies threatens to exacerbate the negative atmosphere against him.
Although he can not face a one-year motion of censure under party rules, lawmakers worried about their future could shorten the time and trigger a new vote sooner.
“Clear verdict”
Richard Furd, the Liberal Democrat candidate who won in Tiverton and Honiton, said in his epic speech that Johnson “must leave and leave now.”
“Every day that Boris Johnson stays in place brings more shame, chaos and neglect.”
The British Prime Minister himself on Thursday rejected the possibility of resigning if the Conservative Party loses the two seats, commenting that it is a common phenomenon for the ruling parties to lose in intermediate local confrontations.
Labor leader Kir Starmer said in a statement that “Wakefield has shown that the country has lost confidence in the Tories. This result is a clear verdict that the Conservative Party has run out of energy and ideas.”
SOURCE: ΑΠΕ-ΜΠΕ
Source: Capital
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