On Friday the 24th of June, UK’s ruling Conservative Party has just lost two key parliamentary seats.

This setback represents yet another challenge for Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who has been targeted by much criticism lately due to several scandals. The latter has absolutely no time to lay back, right after surviving a no-confidence vote in his party earlier this month. 

Friday’s backlash revived rumours concerning a potential new no-confidence vote, although the party’s current rules are – theoretically – supposed to maintain Boris Johnson as its leader for one more year. 

Shortly after the votes had been counted, the chairman of the Conservative Party Oliver Dowden reportedly sent a bitter resignation letter to the Prime Minister.

In his letter, he explained the party’s supporters were “distressed and disappointed by recent events” and that he “shared their feeling”. Oliver Dowden also emphasised the “need for somebody to take responsibility”.

The loss of Wakefield and Tiverton represents a hard blow for the Tories. In Tiverton, the Liberal Democrats won 53 % of the votes against less than 40% for the Conservatives. 

These results were commented by the victorious candidate, Richard Foord as “a shock wave through British politics”, while Lib Dems leader referred to it as “the biggest by-election victory our country has ever seen.”

In Wakefield, it is the Labour Party that finished first, with a comfortable 48% of votes, largely beating the Tories’ 30%. The Labour Party’s leader Keir Starmer explained this victory by saying that it was “a clear judgment on a Conservative Party that has run out of energy and ideas”.

As the New York Times reports, the massive swing in votes in Tiverton and Honiton suggests that even the most loyal Tory voters have become disenchanted with the multiplication of scandals surrounding the ruling party and its leadership. 

Image: Shutterstock

Author: Sébastien Meuiwissen