UK: Boris Johnson's Conservatives lose both by-elections

Two bitter defeats.

That's what British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's ruling Conservatives suffered in by-elections on Friday, including in a constituency in south-west England that has been Tory-held for more than a century.

The centrist Liberal Democrats overthrew the Conservative majority to win Tiverton and Honiton, a constituency in South West England that has been conservative since its inception in 1997, by more than 6,000 votes.

The chairman of the British Conservative Party, Oliver Dowden, announced his resignation to Prime Minister Boris Johnson after a series of "very poor electoral results" including the defeats of the Tories in two parliamentary by-elections on Thursday.

My letter of resignation to the Prime Minister.

pic.twitter.com/xd5MtM2o3n

— Oliver Dowden (@OliverDowden) June 24, 2022

The defeats "are the latest in a series of very bad results for our party", Mr Dowden wrote in a letter to the Prime Minister, adding that "we cannot carry on as business as usual" and "someone 'one must take responsibility'.

The Labor Party, the main opposition party, won by nearly 5,000 votes the constituency of Wakefield, in the north of England, a traditionally Labor stronghold snatched by the Tories during their triumph in December 2019. The votes took Thursday after two resignations of former Conservative MPs who have fallen out of favor in recent months.

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The Wakefield poll was triggered by the resignation of Imran Khan, sentenced to 18 months in prison for the sexual assault of a teenager.

In Tiverton and Honiton, 65-year-old MP Neil Parish tendered his resignation after admitting watching pornography on his phone in Parliament.

"The country has lost confidence in the Tories"

Two weeks after surviving a vote of no confidence in the wake of "partygate" - the affair of the watered parties in Downing Street during the confinements - these results risk further accentuating the climate of distrust within the majority. .

However, Boris Johnson had ruled out Thursday, when he was in Rwanda for a Commonwealth summit, to resign in the event of defeat.

In speeches hailing their victories, the two newly elected MPs said Britain had lost faith in Boris Johnson and urged him to step down.

Opposition leader Keir Starmer, who is considering replacing Mr Johnson as prime minister after the next general election due in 2024, has claimed that Wakefield "could be the birthplace of the next Labor government".

“Wakefield has shown the country has lost faith in the Tories,” he said in a statement.

"This result is a clear verdict on a conservative party that is running out of energy and ideas."

Inflation and massive strike by railway workers

Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey said his party had made 'political history with this stunning victory' and it was a 'wake-up call for all those Tory MPs who support Boris Johnson'.

“The people of Tiverton and Honiton have spoken on behalf of the country,” he added.

"The public is fed up with Boris Johnson's lies and breaches of law and it's time Tory MPs finally do the right thing and fire him."

Boris Johnson has spent months fighting for his survival after a series of controversies, including 'Partygate', which undermined his legitimacy as party leader.

Even before controversy erupted last December, the 58-year-old Brexit architect lost two once secure seats in a by-election last year.

He then scored dismally in local elections in May.

Weeks later, dozens of Tory MPs triggered a vote of no confidence in Mr Johnson, and more than 40% of them turned their backs on their struggling leader.

The context is proving unfavorable for his government, with inflation at its highest for 40 years - exceeding 9% - at the origin of a massive strike by railway workers, and the recent failure of a controversial attempt to deport migrants to Rwanda.