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Tenth consecutive defeat for the Tories

United Kingdom, Labour victory in the by-elections

In yesterday's vote in the Wellingborough and Kingswood constituencies, the eve's predictions were fulfilled: the opposition overwhelmingly won in what were considered Conservative party strongholds

by Nicol Degli Innocenti

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LONDON - Labour in triumph, Conservatives defeated: for British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, the only hope is that the results of the two by-elections in England yesterday are not an omen of what awaits him in this year's general election.

In yesterday's vote in the Wellingborough and Kingswood constituencies the eve's predictions were fulfilled: the Labour opposition overwhelmingly won in what were considered Conservative party strongholds.

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The two Labour candidates, Gen Kitchen and Damien Egan, swept away what seemed to be invincible majorities in the Tories and go on to swell the ranks of Labour MPs in the Westminster Parliament.

The result 'shows that people want change and are ready to put their trust in a renewed Labour Party to get it,' said opposition leader Keir Starmer.

The Conservative party, which has been in government for 14 years, played down the significance of the results, claiming that by-election votes are always due to 'local issues' and do not reflect the opinion of voters nationwide.

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Tenth consecutive defeat for the Tories

However, this is the tenth consecutive defeat for the Tories since 2019 in a series of by-elections that have been won partly by Labour and partly by the Liberal Democrats. The polls also agree in giving Labour an average 20-point margin over the ruling party.

It is up to Sunak to decide the date of the general elections, which will in any case be before the end of the year. The outlook is negative for the ruling party, which in addition to the various political crises it has now to manage an economy officially in recession.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) yesterday confirmed that the UK economy contracted for the second consecutive quarter and is therefore in a technical recession. After a long period of high inflation, high cost of living and weak growth, business and consumer confidence is at rock bottom. 'Rishi's recession shows that the Tories have failed,' Starmer said today.

If Labour challenges the Tories from the left, the ruling party also faces a formidable rival on the right. The Reform Party, the new name of the Brexit Party founded by Nigel Farage, obtained the best result in its history in both constituencies, winning 13% of the vote in Wellingborough and 10.4% in Kingswood, placing third. The fear now is that it could 'steal' votes from the Tories in the general election.

"The citizens of Wellingborough have spoken for Britain," said Kitchen, the newly elected Labour MP in the English constituency. "This extraordinary victory sends a message from Northamptonshire straight to Downing Street.

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