{"id":3061,"date":"2024-02-15T16:07:05","date_gmt":"2024-02-15T14:07:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ch.jfdi.cc\/?p=3061"},"modified":"2024-02-15T16:07:05","modified_gmt":"2024-02-15T14:07:05","slug":"voters-go-to-polls-in-double-test-for-pm-sunak","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ch.jfdi.cc\/?p=3061","title":{"rendered":"Voters go to polls in double test for PM Sunak"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

Voters went to the polls on Thursday for two new British lawmakers, with the opposition Labour Party expected to win parliamentary seats in central and southwestern England in yet another blow to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak\u2019s Conservatives.<\/p>\n

The Conservatives have done little to win over voters<\/strong> in Wellingborough in central England and Kingswood in the south west, preferring to focus on Sunak\u2019s bid to regain ground across the country before this year\u2019s national election.<\/p>\n

But defeats in the so-called by-elections will do little to silence Sunak\u2019s critics, who fear the governing party faces an all-but wipe-out at the national election, which the prime minister says he expects to come in the second half of the year.<\/p>\n

The British leader has pinned his hopes on having time to close the large gap with Labour in the polls and to capitalise on the difficulties the opposition party has had over anti-Semitism allegations and its now-scrapped green spending target.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been a rocky week for the Labour Party<\/strong>, but our markets suggest they are still on course to claim a convincing victory in both the Wellingborough and Kingswood by-elections this Thursday,\u201d said a spokesperson for bookmakers William Hill.<\/p>\n

The results are expected to come in the early hours of Friday.<\/p>\n

While Labour sent many of its lawmakers and activists to campaign in both places, the Conservatives have had a muted presence, with many lawmakers concentrating more on trying to hold onto their own seats before the national election.<\/p>\n

The Conservatives had held large majorities in both seats. The contest in Wellingborough was triggered after the former member of parliament was forced out over a bullying and harassment scandal, while in Kingswood, former minister Chris Skidmore resigned over Sunak\u2019s climate change policies.<\/p>\n

Labour leader Keir Starmer faced criticism this week for not moving immediately to censure a Labour candidate in a separate vote who was recorded espousing conspiracy theories about Israel.<\/p>\n

But the governing party has also not been without its issues \u2014 data on Thursday showed the economy had slipped into recession in the second half of 2023, a challenge for Sunak who has made boosting economic growth a main pledge before the national election.<\/p>\n

Labour was keen to manage expectations as voting took place.<\/p>\n

\u201cLabour is really up against it in these by elections,\u201d a Labour source said.

\u201cWe\u2019ve focused relentlessly on the cost of living crisi<\/strong>s following 14 years of chaotic Tory failure, and we\u2019re fighting for every vote, but winning these seats was always going to be a massive challenge for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Follow the
\nCyprus Mail on Google News<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

– Voters cast their ballots on Thursday to elect two new British lawmakers.
\n– The opposition Labour Party was expected to win parliamentary seats in central and southwestern England.
\n– The by-elections were seen as a setback for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Conservative Party.
\n– The Conservatives have not made significant efforts to win over voters in Wellingborough and Kingswood.
\n– The by-elections were expected to increase criticism of Sunak, with concerns about a potential Conservative wipe-out in the upcoming national election.
\n– Sunak hopes to close the poll gap with Labour and capitalize on Labour’s issues with anti-Semitism allegations and a retracted green spending target.
\n– Bookmakers predicted Labour victories in both Wellingborough and Kingswood by-elections.
\n– The by-election results were expected to be announced early on Friday.
\n– Labour sent many lawmakers and activists to campaign in both areas, while the Conservative presence was more subdued.
\n– The Wellingborough contest was triggered by a bullying and harassment scandal, and the Kingswood contest followed Chris Skidmore’s resignation over climate change policies.
\n– Labour leader Keir Starmer faced criticism for not immediately censuring a Labour candidate who espoused conspiracy theories about Israel.
\n– The UK economy entered a recession in the second half of 2023, presenting a challenge for Sunak, who prioritized economic growth before the national election.
\n– Labour aimed to manage expectations during the voting process, acknowledging the difficulty in winning the by-elections and focusing on the cost of living crisis.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":3062,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"Default","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[195,461,693,838,3,645,26,153,250,299,839,185,34,759,840,494,380,18],"class_list":["post-3061","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cyprus","tag-britain","tag-british","tag-climate-change","tag-conservatives","tag-cyprus","tag-economic-growth","tag-economy","tag-elections","tag-google","tag-israel","tag-labour","tag-main","tag-markets","tag-scandal","tag-starmer","tag-uk","tag-us","tag-world"],"acf":{"keyphrase":"","keywords":"","sourceimg":"","country-category":""},"yoast_head":"\nVoters go to polls in double test for PM Sunak<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"election results. 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