Tory defeat: British Labor calls for new election

In Blackpool, Labor candidate Chris Webb beat the ruling party candidate by 26 per cent. This was the third largest lead over the Conservative Tories in a by-election since the Second World War.

This marks the twelfth defeat for the ruling Tories in the 13th by-election of the current legislative term. The election in Blackpool was necessitated after Conservative MP Scott Benton resigned over a lobbying scandal.

Starmer: “14 years of decline”

Labor leader Starmer said on Friday his party’s landslide victory in Blackpool South was “the most important result of the day”. The result speaks for the whole country. Starmer said people had had enough of “14 years of failure, 14 years of decline”. The country wants a fresh start under the Labor Party.

Starmer told Sky News that Labor was a “fundamentally different party” since he became party leader four years ago. Friday’s results showed Labor was once again an elected force. “This is the only election where voters have had a chance to send a direct message to Rishi Sunak’s Conservatives, and that message is a huge vote for change.”

Local elections: Tories face defeat

Meanwhile, local elections in England and Wales were held on Thursday. These are seen as the last major test of Prime Minister Sunak’s sentiments before the upcoming British general election. According to preliminary results, the Labor Party managed to score significant victories here as well. The official results of the local body elections are expected to be out on Friday and Saturday.

According to poll analyst John Curtis, the Conservatives could lose around half of the thousand council seats they are trying to secure in the local elections. “We are facing one of the worst, worst, Conservative results in local elections in 40 years,” the BBC expert said.

The focus of local elections was, among others, mayoral elections in the British capital, London. Sadiq Khan, from the Labor Party, is the first mayor to run for a third term there. A neck-and-neck race is likely in the West Midlands and Tees Valley regions.

Sunak focused on the “tasks at hand”.

Prime Minister Sunak admitted the loss of dozens of mandates was “disappointing”. But many decisions are still pending, he said. In the meantime, he is “fully focused on the task of accomplishing something for people across the country.”

Tory general secretary Richard Holden warned against making hasty decisions. There were no immediate signs of agitation. Sunak’s inner-party critic Andrea Jenkins, who has long called for the prime minister’s resignation, said a no-confidence vote in the group was unlikely. However, he called for a cabinet reshuffle to clarify conservative positions.

In opinion polls, Sunak’s party is lagging far behind the opposition Labor Party. The Prime Minister had announced that the British Assembly elections would be held in the second half of the year. His party’s poor performance in the local elections could further increase the pressure on him.

A country in crisis

Great Britain is currently experiencing one of its biggest crises in decades. People are greatly affected by the high cost of living. The Tories, in power since 2010, have also been heavily criticized across the country on issues such as transport and health.

A total of eleven mayoral posts, more than 2,500 local councillors, 25 members of the London City Assembly and 37 police and crime commissioners in England and Wales, a political office that oversees local police powers, were elected on Thursday. Political cards were replaced in 107 out of 317 English communities.

Major topics include the difficult financial situation of municipalities, potholes in roads and waste water discharged into seas and rivers. According to an analysis by the think tank’s Local Government Information Unit, many local councils are reacting to impending financial ruin with higher taxes and fees and lower social benefits.