British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's Conservative Party has suffered a big defeat in local elections. The polls come just months before a parliamentary vote. While the main opposition Labour Party made gains, smaller parties and independents also had a good showing.

London

The Conservative Party, led by British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, has faced significant losses in local elections. This comes at a crucial time, just months before the country is set to have a parliamentary vote. The main opposition Labour Party, on the other hand, has capitalized on the situation, making notable gains. Additionally, the outcome was favorable for smaller parties and independents across England.

In a notable parliamentary by-election in Blackpool, the Labour Party saw a 26% swing in its favor, a direct challenge to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's leadership. The Conservatives narrowly outpaced the right-wing Reform Party to maintain second place. This result has been interpreted as a direct message to Sunak, highlighting the electorate's dissatisfaction with his administration.

The local council elections echoed the sentiment found in Blackpool, with Conservative councillors losing seats in significant numbers. The losses were particularly stark in areas where the Reform Party contested, drawing away right-wing support from the Conservatives.

While the Labour Party did not achieve a clean sweep, facing its own setbacks such as losing control of Oldham Council due to policy disagreements, there were signs of a reduction in Labour's traditionally solid support among Muslim voters. This shift benefited other parties like the Liberal Democrats and Green Party.

Despite the heavy losses, there was a silver lining for the Conservatives with Ben Houchen securing the regional mayoralty in the Tees Valley, although his majority was reduced. The bleak overall results have reignited discussions around Sunak's leadership within the Conservative Party, amidst declining pressure for a leadership change following the party's poor performance in these elections.



Worry for U.K. PM amid heavy local election losses

preparing for a bad set of results but a parliamentary by-election in Blackpool delivered an early defeat stinging in its scale. A 26% swing to the main opposition Labour Party, the Conservatives only just beating the right-wing Reform Party into second place. Here in Blackpool a message has been sent directly to the Prime Minister, directly to the Prime Minister because this was a parliamentary vote, this was directly to Rishi Sunak to say we're fed up with your decline, your chaos and your division and we want change. In local council elections across England a similar story. Conservative councillors losing seats in numbers at the high end of pre-election projections. They suffered particularly where Reform fielded candidates and attracted right-wing votes. All of this just months out from a general election. I'm focused completely on the job at hand, that's delivering for people across the country. If you just look at what we're doing in the last week or so alone, a £900 tax cut hitting people's payslips, the first failed asylum seeker off to Rwanda at the same time. What have Labour said? Well they said that they are going to scrap the Rwanda scheme and as far as I can tell offer an amnesty. These elections were far from a Labour clean sweep. The party lost control of Oldham Council, two Labour councillors having defected over policy on Gaza. There was evidence elsewhere of a dropping off in Labour's traditionally solid Muslim vote, to the benefit of the Liberal Democrat and Green parties. For the Conservatives, for Rishi Sunak, some solace in the result of one of two regional mayoralties that they were defending. Ben Houchen holding on in the Tees Valley, his majority down from 70 to 53%. The idea that the Conservatives would have another leadership election, present the country with a fourth Prime Minister since the last general election in 2019, had appeared to be dying down in the days running up to these elections. But the results have been so bad, the news so relentlessly depressing for the Conservatives, that the pressure on Rishi Sunak's position has intensified once again. Harry Fawcett, Al Jazeera, London.

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