by Alistair Smut
LONDON (Reuters) – British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his Conservative Party suffered two heavy defeats in parliamentary by-elections on Friday, prompting the resignation of the Tory leader and reigniting speculation about the fate of the already facing a series of crises.
A Liberal Democrat candidate has largely won in the constituency of Tiverton and Honiton, a conservative stronghold in Devon (south-west) and in Wakefield, near Leeds (north), a Labor candidate has won back, with a solid majority, a seat won by the Tories in December 2019.
Boris Johnson, currently in Rwanda for a Commonwealth summit, has vowed to hear voter concerns and do more to deal with falling purchasing power after the “harsh” results of the two by-elections.
“It is undeniable that we had severe results in these by-elections (…) I think that as head of government, I have to hear the message of the voters”, he declared to the press at Kigali.
“We have to admit that we need to do more…we will continue to address people’s concerns until we have overcome this difficult time,” he added.
The Prime Minister has already been weakened for several months by the so-called “Partygate” scandal of the parties organized in Downing Street during the confinements, as well as by the concerns of the British in the face of soaring food and energy prices.
These electoral setbacks further weaken his position and could spread the sling against him in his own camp.
Boris Johnson earlier this month won a vote of confidence from his Conservative Party MPs but only garnered the support of 59% of them, despite previously being seen as untouchable after carrying the Tories in 2019 to an electoral victory unprecedented in more than three decades.
REBIRTHING SLING
A new sign of this weakening, the leader of the Conservative Party, Oliver Dowden, presented his resignation on Friday in the wake of the results of the two by-elections, suggesting that Boris Johnson should also take responsibility for these electoral defeats.
“Yesterday’s by-elections are the latest in a series of electoral setbacks for our party. Our supporters are disturbed and disappointed (…) and I share that sentiment,” wrote Oliver Dowden in his resignation letter addressed to Boris Johnson.
“We cannot carry on business as usual. Someone has to take responsibility and I have concluded that under these circumstances it would not be appropriate for me to remain in my position under these circumstances,” adds this longtime ally of the Prime Minister.
Several elected Conservatives have expressed their support for Oliver Dowden on Twitter, stating that he was not responsible for these electoral defeats, suggesting that the sling against Boris Johnson could regain momentum.
According to the Conservative Party’s statutes, Boris Johnson cannot be put to a new vote of confidence for a year, but elected officials fearing for their seats could decide to shorten this deadline to hold a new vote.
This process could take time, however, and another route to pushing Boris Johnson out ahead of elections scheduled for 2024 would require the serial resignations of members of his cabinet or senior ministers in his government.
For the opposition parties, the results of these partial legislative elections are a sign of the loss of influence of the conservatives.
“If the elected Conservatives do not wake up, voters will send them home at the next election,” said LibDem leader Ed Davey.
For his part, Labor boss Keir Starmer said in a statement that the Labor candidate’s victory in Wakefield “demonstrates that the country has lost all confidence in the Tories. It is clear from this result that voters believe that the Conservative Party no longer has any energy or ideas”.
These by-elections had been organized after the resignation of two parliamentarians from the ranks of the Conservative Party, one having admitted to having watched a pornographic video in the middle of debates in the House of Commons and the other having been found guilty of sexual assault on minor.
(With contributions from Andrew MacAskill in Kigali; French version Myriam Rivet, editing by Kate Entringer)