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British Prime Minister Sunak narrowly avoids wipeout in local polls

21 July 2023 18:30 (UTC +04:00)

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's governing Conservatives lost two strategically important parliamentary seats on Friday but unexpectedly retained former leader Boris Johnson's old constituency in a setback for the opposition Labour Party, APA reports citing Reuters.

The Conservatives' narrow victory in Uxbridge and South Ruislip gave Sunak some breathing space to try to narrow Labour's large lead in the polls by tackling inflation and a cost-of-living crisis before a national vote expected next year.

Sunak said the win showed that upcoming election was not a "done deal". In a cafe in the constituency, he told reporters: "The message I take away is that we have to double down, stick to our plan and deliver for people."

But the scale of the challenge was highlighted by the loss of the once safe Conservative parliamentary seat of Selby and Ainsty in northern England, where Labour overturned the biggest Conservative majority at a by-election since World War Two.

"This is a big step forward towards the general election. Never before in our history have we done this," Labour leader Keir Starmer told reporters in Selby.

The Conservatives also suffered a crushing loss in a third vote to the centrist Liberal Democrats in Somerton and Frome.

But the retention of former prime minister Johnson's seat just outside central London by fewer than 500 votes ensured Sunak avoided becoming the first British leader to lose three by-elections on a single day in more than half a century.

Sunak, a former finance minister and investment banker, has tried to use his technocratic leadership to restore the Conservatives' credibility after a series of scandals last year forced Johnson to resign as prime minister, and economic turmoil prompted his successor, Liz Truss, to quit after just six weeks.

He is expected to reshuffle his senior ministers soon to pick his team to fight the next election.

With stubbornly high inflation, economic stagnation, rising mortgage rates, industrial unrest and long waiting times to use the state-run health service, the Conservatives had been braced for the possibility of losing all three seats.