England: Tories lose two seats in parliamentary by-elections

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's party has again lost two parliamentary seats to Labor in the by-election. The opposition won votes in Wellingborough in central England and Kingswood in the west of England. This means the ruling Tories have already lost six seats in this legislative term's by-election. Tory group leader James Daly said the loss of seats was disappointing.

Labor leader Keir Starmer said the Tories had failed. His party achieved a “wonderful result”. Starmer said it meant “people want change and are willing to put their faith in a transformed Labor Party to deliver it”. Opinion polls suggest the opposition leader is currently favored to become prime minister in a nationwide general election expected this year.

Right-wing parties gain support

A by-election is necessary because two Tories have previously resigned from their posts. One of them had to leave Parliament after allegations of sexual abuse and ill-treatment of his staff. Another walked out of parliament protesting Sunak's plans to expand oil and gas production.

Since the regular general election in 2019, Great Britain has already held 21 by-elections, most of which the Conservatives lost. Some by-elections have had to be held due to misconduct by Tory MPs.

Pressure on Sunak is likely to continue to mount from within his own ranks. England A new lower house is being elected this year, the exact date is not yet known. The country has been in economic recession for months, while support for the Tories, who have been in power since 2010, has been falling.

However, Labor has also come under fire in the past week after two candidates were placed on leave over allegations of anti-Semitism. Former right-wing Brexit party Reform UK appears to be benefiting from a loss of confidence among the main parties. For the first time in a by-election, it got more than ten percent.