The scale of defeat in two parliamentary seats the Conservatives have held for years piles pressure on Sunak ahead of national elections expected next year.
Rishi Sunak arrives in Tel Aviv to show support for Israel in its war on Gaza, October 19, 2023. Photo: Reuters / Photo: Reuters Archive
While so-called by-elections are often lost by the governing party, the scale of the defeat in two parliamentary seats the Conservatives have held for years piles pressure on Sunak, who took over almost a year ago after the governing party became embroiled in scandals and chaos under previous leaders.
Labour won the seat of Mid-Bedfordshire, an area about 80 km north of London, overturning a majority of almost 25,000, making it the biggest deficit the party has overcome in a by-election since 1945. The Conservative party has only won one of the last 12 by-elections in this parliament, with half of the contests caused by resignations of politicians for misconduct.
In a speech at his party's conference this month, Sunak sought to cast himself as a tough decision maker who was focused on reviving the economy while meeting what he said were the public's demands of watering down steps to reach climate change targets and 'stopping the boats' to tackle illegal immigration.
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