Britain’s governing Conservative Party on Friday lost two of its safest parliamentary seats in a significant and ominous setback for the prime minister, Rishi Sunak, who must call a general election that will decide his fate within the next 15 months.
Voting in the Conservative strongholds of Mid Bedfordshire and Tamworth took place on Thursday to replace two of the party’s lawmakers — one of whom quit after an allegation of sexual assault — and came as Britain’s health care system faces acute strain and its economy stagnates amid high inflation.
While that was always likely to put the Conservatives under pressure, the double defeat in the party’s heartlands was a stunning blow to Mr. Sunak and a striking success for the opposition Labour Party and its leader, Keir Starmer.
In Tamworth, northeast of Birmingham, Labour overturned a majority of almost 20,000 in the last general election to win narrowly, while in Mid Bedfordshire, around 50 miles north of London, the main opposition party overcame an even bigger deficit to seize the seat.
Persons:
Rishi Sunak, —, Sunak, Keir Starmer .
Organizations:
Conservative Party, Conservative, Tamworth, Labour Party, Labour
Locations:
Mid Bedfordshire, Tamworth, Birmingham, London