LONDON (AP) — Voters in two districts in England delivered new blows to beleaguered Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, electing opposition-party lawmakers in seats that Sunak’s Conservatives had held for years.
Labour Party candidate Damien Egan won the House of Commons seats of Kingswood in southwest England, and Labour's Gen Kitchen took Wellingborough in the country’s center, results announced Friday showed.
The Conservatives won both by large margins at the last national election in 2019 but saw support collapse in Thursday's special elections.
The hard-right Reform party — formerly known as the Brexit Party — came third, putting more pressure on the Conservatives.
The Conservatives pointed to the low turnout — less than 40% of eligible voters cast ballots — as a sign British electors are not enthusiastic about Labour.
Persons:
Rishi Sunak, Damien Egan, Kitchen, —, Brexit Party —, Keir Starmer, Chris Skidmore, Peter Bone, Sunak, Liz Truss, Brexit, Boris Johnson, John Curtice, ” “, ”
Organizations:
—, Labour Party, Wellingborough, Conservatives, Brexit Party, Labour, Conservative, European Union, University of Strathclyde, BBC
Locations:
England, Kingswood, Wellingborough