OPEN LETTER/ Come to the dialogue and listen to me speak, otherwise I will cut off your scholarships, you will rot in prison. Please!

 Kliko këtu për të tjera
Voxpress:

Historic defeat of the British Conservatives in the local elections

2024-05-03 22:03:29Kosova&Bota SHKRUAR NGA ASSOCIATED PRESS
Historic defeat of the British Conservatives in the local elections
Historic defeat of the British Conservatives in the local elections

Britain's ruling Conservative Party suffered a heavy defeat in local elections on Friday, further strengthening expectations that the Labor Party will return to power after 14 years. A general election in the United Kingdom is expected to be held in the coming months.

Labor won control of local councils in England where it has not held a majority for decades and won a special by-election for parliament. If this result were repeated in the general election, it would lead to one of the Conservatives' biggest defeats.

Although the overall results are a bleak forecast for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, his party secured a significant victory in the North East of England. The Tory candidate in Tees Valley was re-elected, albeit by a narrow margin. The victory of Ben Houchen, who campaigned on personal accusations, may be enough to protect Mr Sunak from a possible revolt by conservative lawmakers.

For Keir Starmer, the leader of the Labor Party, these results are excellent. The only negative result for Labor came from Blackburn and Oldham in north-west England, areas with large Muslim populations. Labor appears to have been punished as a result of its strong pro-Israel stance on the war in Gaza.

Labor won the by-election in Blackpool South, in northwest England, for a vacant British parliament seat. This area was won by the Conservatives in the last election in 2019, when then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson achieved great success in areas that supported leaving the European Union.

In the race, which was held as a result of the resignation of a Tory lawmaker following a lobbying scandal, Labour's Chris Webb secured 10,825 votes to his Conservative opponent who received 3,218 votes. This 26% drop in support for the Conservatives is the third biggest loss since World War II. That would be more than enough to ensure Labor is returned to power for the first time since 2010.

Mr Starmer went to Blackpool to congratulate candidate Webb on his success and asked Prime Minister Sunak to call the election. Prime Minister Sunak has the power to decide on the date of the elections and has said that it will be in the second half of this year.

"This was a direct message to Rishi Sunak to say that we are fed up with the chaos and division caused by you and we want change," he said.

Thursday's election across much of England was momentous in its own right as voters decide who will run many aspects of their daily lives, such as rubbish collection, road maintenance and local crime prevention, in years next. But with the general election looming, it is being viewed through a national prism.

John Curtice, a professor at Strathclyde University, said the results so far show the Conservatives are losing about half the seats they are trying to defend.

"We are probably seeing one of the worst results for the Conservatives in local government elections for the last 40 years," he told the BBC.

Other parties, such as the centrist Liberal Democrats and the Green Party, have also seen growth. The Reform UK party, which is trying to replace the Tories by attracting right-wing voters, also made some gains, notably in Blackpool South, where it was less than 200 votes out of second place.

Labor has won in areas that voted heavily for Britain to leave the European Union in 2016 such as Hartlepool in northeast England and Thurrock in southeast England. She also took control of Rushmoor, a council where she has never won before.

A positive result for the Tories was in Tees Valley, which before Brexit had been a traditional Labor stronghold. However, Houchen's share of the conservative vote fell by 20 percent from 2021.

Premier Sunak hopes that Andy Street will continue to be mayor of the West Midlands. The result is announced there on Saturday. Also on Saturday, the result for London is expected to be announced, where Sadiq Khan of Labor is expected to win another mandate.

Rishi Sunak became prime minister in October 2022 after the short-lived tenure of his predecessor, Liz Truss, who left office after 49 days after presenting a budget with tax cuts that rattled financial markets and raised borrowing costs for landlords of houses.

Her chaotic leadership has added to the Tories' struggles following the leadership of her predecessor Boris Johnson, who was forced to resign after being found guilty of lying to Parliament about breaching restrictions on prime ministerial offices during the coronavirus pandemic.

All of Mr Sunak's efforts have failed to boost support, with Labor consistently 20 per cent ahead in the polls. If the results of the local elections translate into a general election, Labor would score a landslide victory on par with that achieved by Tony Blair in 1997.

In the face of this loss, British conservative lawmakers may begin to consider another candidate to replace Mr. Sunak, in the hope that the other candidate may have more success.


Në përputhje me standarded JTI

Video

SHIKO KANALIN NE YOUTUBE
×