Great Britain
Debacle for Prime Minister Sunak in local elections
Rishi Sunak’s Tory party is suffering heavy losses. photo
© Jordan Pettitt/Press Association/dpa
The results do not bode well for the British head of government. Rishi Sunak faces an uncertain future. Is there now a revolt in his Conservative Party?
There is already talk of a conservative collapse. The British Prime Minister’s Tory Party Rishi Sunak is heading towards the end of her government with a devastating defeat in local elections in England. “The results are not just bad for the Tories and Rishi Sunak, they are terrible,” said political scientist Tim Bale from Queen Mary University of London to the German Press Agency. The election was seen as a test of sentiment for the upcoming British general election.
Earlier in the day, election researcher John Curtice from Glasgow’s University of Strathclyde told the BBC that the Tories were on course for one of their worst results in 40 years. By the afternoon, the image of a Black Friday for the conservatives had solidified. There was also a defeat in a by-election to the British Parliament. Sunak’s party lost the seat in the northwest English constituency of Blackpool South to the opposition Labor party – the 26-point swing to the Social Democrats was the third largest in a by-election since the Second World War.
Survey sees conservatives only at 18 percent
Commentators emphasized that local elections are not comparable to parliamentary elections. But a national survey by the opinion research institute Yougov also sees Sunak’s Conservatives in free fall: only 18 percent, Labor has 44 percent. For Labor leader Keir Starmer, evidence of a change in mood: “We have experienced 14 years of failure and decline, and the Tories have left us nothing but chaos and division.”
The competition from the right-wing populist Reform UK party should also give Sunak pause. In Blackpool South, the former Brexit Party came in third place, just over 100 votes behind the Conservatives. Reform UK, once founded by Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage, also achieved some impressive results in the local elections and cost the Conservatives numerous seats.
Not all votes have been counted yet. It will be interesting to see whether Labor will be able to win the West Midlands region. The Social Democrats have already won the newly formed York and North Yorkshire region, in which Sunak’s own constituency is located. “Keir Starmer’s Labor Party is now winning in Sunak’s backyard,” sneered a Labor spokesman. Labor incumbent Sadiq Khan was also considered the favorite in the capital London. The result is not expected here until Saturday.
However, the Conservatives were able to hold on to the Tees Valley region in the north-east. Mayor Ben Houchen had avoided any approach to the party during the election campaign, commentators noted. The Tories achieved a respectable success in Harlow. Labor leader Keir Starmer recently described a victory in the town north of London as central to the general election.
Gaza war a difficult issue for Labor
Labor also suffered losses in districts with large Muslim populations. Here the Social Democrats, who are traditionally close to the Palestinians, are accused of not criticizing Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip harshly enough. Smaller parties or independents benefited from this. However, the losses are likely to be smaller in the parliamentary election. “The voters don’t love Labor,” said political scientist Mark Garnett from Lancaster University, summing up the results in an interview with dpa. “But the Tories are toxic.”
The conservatives have been in power for 14 years. But the past few years, with frequent changes at the top and the chaos under Sunak’s predecessors Boris Johnson and Liz Truss, have shaken confidence in the party.
The local election result could affect the political future of Sunak, who has been in office since October 2022. The British must elect a new parliament by January 2025 at the latest; the Prime Minister has promised a date in the second half of the year. Uncertainty has dominated the political discourse for months. Sunak had repeatedly been threatened with a revolt, especially from the right wing, and his performance in the local elections also played a role.
What’s next for the Prime Minister
It’s now a long weekend in Great Britain. Time for MPs to think about how to proceed. Tory general secretary Richard Holden warned against making hasty decisions. In fact, a revolt does not seem imminent. Sunak critic Andrea Jenkyns, who has long been calling for the prime minister to resign, said a vote of no confidence within the party was unlikely, according to the Times newspaper. However, she called for a cabinet reshuffle to make conservative positions clearer.
Sunak’s time as prime minister may still be running out. The results support polls that show Labor is on course for a clear majority in the general election, political scientist Bale said. MP Lee Anderson, who recently switched from the Tories to the right-wing Reform Party, was clearer. He told Sky News: “Rishi Sunak could fly over Britain and throw a million pounds down every chimney. They would still vote him out.”