Conservatives Face Election Wipeout as Voters Turn on Sunak

On Friday, voters in two parliamentary elections rejected the party of British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, inflicting a serious political blow to the embattled leader.

In Selby and Ainsty, a region in the north of England where Sunak's party had held a dominating majority, the Conservative Party fell short of victory against the resurgent Labour Party, according to CNN. The Liberal Democrats, a moderate party, won Somerton and Frome a second seat.

Rishi Leadership Under Pressure

Despite Labour dramatically increasing its vote share, the Conservatives narrowly held onto a third seat in Uxbridge and South Ruislip, the district that former Prime Minister Boris Johnson represented until he resigned from Parliament last month.

The outcomes will put Sunak's leadership under strain and indicate that his government is headed for a defeat in the anticipated 2019 general election.

In the nine months that Sunak has been in power, he has failed to turn around the Conservatives' deteriorating prospects; a slew of scandals, a faltering economy, and a degradation in Britain's public services have made his party extremely unpopular.

However, the findings show that the opposition Labour Party, led by Keir Starmer, is poised to seize control when Sunak calls for national elections.

By January 2025, a general election is required by law. To avoid trying to convince voters to cast their ballots in the middle of winter, most experts believe Sunak will call the election in the fall of 2024, if not before. The three by-elections on Thursday gave Sunak his toughest mid-term test yet.

Boris Johnson's Resignation Affected Conservative's Chances

In Uxbridge and South Ruislip, where Labour hoped to win the seat that Boris Johnson had held for eight years, the incumbent Conservatives narrowly avoided defeat. Steve Tuckwell of the Conservative Party won with 45.16 percent of the vote.

After a committee of fellow legislators discovered that Johnson had lied to Parliament about "Partygate," the controversy involving lockdown-era parties in his cabinet that ruined his popularity and contributed to his political downfall, Johnson resigned in rage.

However, Labour in Selby, in the north of England, overcame a large disadvantage to win the seat with 46 percent of the votes. Both seats were the places that Labour should concentrate its efforts on winning if it wanted to stand a chance of winning a parliamentary majority at the next election.

Both of those votes were brought about due to a committee of legislators' devastating and ground-breaking conclusion that Johnson had lied to Parliament. Johnson could have received a 90-day suspension from the House of Commons but resigned.

A few hours later, Johnson's close buddy and former Selby representative for the Conservative Party, Nigel Adams, resigned in what appeared to be a show of support. The Liberal Democrats' crushing victory in the wealthy south-west England district of Somerton and Frome, where they received nearly 55 percent of the vote, added to the Conservatives' troubles.

In the so-called "Blue Wall," a wealthy region of southern England that usually opposed Brexit, the centrist party has been gaining support from former Conservatives.

The outcomes amount to a strong rejection of Sunak's Conservative Party, which has been in power for 13 years and has seen its polling numbers plummet at Johnson's end of office and ever since. Sunak will try to maintain his position as party leader and fend off any increasing rumors of a challenge.