With a razor-thin majority of 495 votes, the British Conservatives defended the former constituency of their ex-Prime Minister Boris Johnson. In two other districts, the ruling party was clearly defeated by the opposition Labor and Liberal Democrats in by-elections for the House of Commons. This was clear after counting the votes on Friday night. A new parliament is expected to be elected in Britain next year. The Conservatives are currently lagging far behind the largest opposition party, Labour, in the polls.
The by-elections in the three constituencies previously held by the Conservatives had been made necessary by resignations: Johnson had given up his west London constituency of Uxbridge and South Ruislip, his ally Nigel Adams the constituency of Selby and Ainsty. Elections were also held in the Somerton and Frome constituency in Somerset. Polls had pointed to a triple defeat for the Conservatives. They narrowly missed that once again.
“Fantastic news from Uxbridge,” Johnson wrote on Twitter, congratulating his party colleague Steve Tuckwell, who is now assuming his mandate. He added: “It shows that the Conservatives can win in London and across the country.” The incumbent Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was a little more reserved. In any case, a change of government in the next general election is, contrary to what many assume, not yet a settled matter, he said during a visit to the London constituency. Labor leader Keir Starmer spoke of a “historic victory” for his party.
No cause for excessive joy
According to political scientist John Curtice, the conservative Tories have no reason to celebrate. The narrow victory in the former Johnson constituency is likely to have had to do primarily with the controversial expansion of the environmental zone by London’s Labor Mayor Sadiq Khan. Vehicles with certain emission classes are only allowed to drive into the environmental zone for a high fee, which is now being extended to the entire metropolitan area. That should have given the Tories a boost. In relation to the country as a whole, however, this will not help the conservatives, according to the expert.
In the constituency of Selby and Ainsty in North Yorkshire, Tories’ worst fears were realised. The only 25-year-old candidate Keir Mather from the Labor Party prevailed there. His victory in the constituency, at around 24 percent, represents the second-largest Conservative-to-Labour voter swing in the history of a British by-election, according to Curtice. There, the Liberal Democrats were allowed to cheer. According to the expert, the results indicate that voters have been tactical in voting for the party most likely to threaten the Tories.
Johnson resigned in June to avoid punishment by a committee of inquiry. He had dealt with his statements in the so-called Partygate scandal about forbidden celebrations during the corona pandemic. The committee found that Johnson lied on multiple occasions. The former prime minister is now writing columns for a daily newspaper again. However, he is said to have ambitions to return to the top of the party and government.
