British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Conservative Party has lost control of traditional strongholds in London. Elsewhere in Britain, the ruling party has also suffered losses in local elections held on Thursday, according to the first results released on Friday.
Voters appear to be punishing the government for a series of scandals.
In several London neighbourhoods where the Conservatives have held the majority since time immemorial, they have lost it. With this, the British are probably showing their anger at the sharp rise in the cost of living and fines imposed on Johnson and close associates for violating their own corona rules around parties during lockdowns, better known as ‘party gate’.
“This is a warning shot from Conservative voters,” said Daniel Thomas, the Conservative leader of Barnet’s council. President Oliver Dowden of the ruling party speaks of “difficult results”. “I accept that these are challenging times and that there have been some difficult outcomes. However, I do not accept that Labor has the momentum to form the next government,” Dowden told Sky News.
The final results are expected later Friday and are seen as an important snapshot of public opinion since Johnson secured the largest majority in 30 years for the Conservative party in the 2019 general election. Early results show Johnson’s party lost 92 council seats. The main opposition Labor party wins 23 seats, the Liberal Democrats 42.