Local elections in UK are not going well for Boris Johnson

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Local elections were held in the UK on Thursday and, as expected, it has not been particularly good for the Conservative Party, Prime Minister Boris Johnson. The first results (votes count nearly half) showed that Johnson’s party had lost seats in the districts and regions it had traditionally supported, in some cases for decades: an increase in the cost of living. Looks like weight. The scam of the parties was first organized in the Prime Minister’s residence in violation of the restrictions of the lockdown.

It was voted to renew in Thursday’s elections. more than 7 thousand seats in administrative meetings (“councils”) of parts of England as well as of various districts of Scotland and Wales. as thoughtThe most significant defeat for the Conservatives was in London, where it was voted to renew the administration of the 32 districts that make up it.

The defeat that attracted the most attention was in the district Westminster, one of the most important and central in London, where Labor won the majority of seats. Westminster is the district where Buckingham Palace is located, the residence of the Queen: it has been controlled by conservatives since 1964, although in recent years it has shifted more and more towards the Labor Party.

In London, the Conservatives also lost the districts of Wandsworth and Barnett under Conservative control from 1978 and 1964 respectively (in the latter case Only two Local votes went differently).

Outside London, the Conservative Party lost a majority of seats in the councils. southamptonsouthern UK city Worcesterin the west, and West OxfordshireIn all these cases conservative seats went to the Labor Party, the Liberal Democrat Party, liberal and progressive, and the Green Party, leftist and environmentalist.

For the Labor Party, local elections were particularly good in London, with no particular advantage over the rest of the country (but it must be said that the majority of the seats voted were in any case already controlled by Labor, So those who had more to demonstrate knew how to keep them). The counting of votes is still underway though: the results for Scotland and Wales are awaited and it will be possible to get an accurate idea of ​​how these elections went between Friday evening and Saturday morning.

There are many reasons for the weakening of the Conservative Party. There is a so called “partygate”, holiday scam during lockdown, like he confirmed To BBC Conservative politician Stephen Hammond.

In recent months, the scandal had landed the Conservative Party in serious trouble: there was considerable talk of replacing Johnson as the party’s leader (and therefore as the country’s prime minister) and the scandal was the center of two investigations. It ended in: an internal government, which had rather disgraceful consequences for Johnson’s leadership, essentially calling the “failure” and conduct of the London Police. The latter is still ongoing and less than a month ago fines were imposed against both Johnson and his own party’s economy minister Rishi Sunak.

But the increase in the cost of living seems to have weighed on the vote, particularly felt in the United Kingdom and which many believe to be Johnson’s party. rawIn March this year, the country’s inflation reached 7%, Highest level since 1992With a very strong growth in the last year.

– Also read: A test for Boris Johnson