Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s conservative party, weakened by scandals, suffered heavy defeats in London on Friday in local elections that were also a good indication for a historic change in Northern Ireland.
Mid-term air hole or real beginning of the end for the conservative leader?
If the count hadn’t been over, Boris Johnson’s camp, weakened by revelations about Downing Street parties and rising prices, would have already suffered symbolic capital losses.
The Labor opposition in London has won the local councils of Westminster, which have been controlled by the Tories since its creation in 1964, by Barnet as well as by Wandsworth, favorite tip of former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
Outside the capital, Labor is making only limited gains so far, while smaller parties, the Liberal Democrats and Greens, are thriving.
From his constituency in west London, Boris Johnson spoke of the results mixed. He met a hard night Thursday for Conservatives in some areas, but claimed progress in others.
Given the courage of the earlier results, Labor leader Keir Starmer praised a turn around : we sent a message to the Prime Minister, Britain deserves morehe said, before tweeting change will begin now.
According to still partial results, the Conservatives lost 11 councils and more than 170 seats compared to 2018 while Labor won seven councils and more than 110 additional elected officials.
Although traditionally marked by local issues and low turnout, these elections for the first time measured the effects of the Downing Street holiday scandal during the incarcerations, a case that resulted in a fine for Boris Johnson.
In power for 12 years, Conservatives have also been criticized for their inadequate support for households choked by inflation, which should rise this year to more than 10% according to the central bank.
Conservative party chairman Oliver Dowden tried to slow it down, putting them difficult result in accordance with what can be expected from a vote that will take place in the middle of the term.
Falling popularity
The popularity of Boris Johnson, 57, close to three on Downing Street, plummeted after party gate. He has so far weathered the storm, highlighting his leading role in Western support for Ukraine, and said he is determined to stay in power and lead the fight for the next legislative election in 2024.
Labor, the main opposition party, hopes to take advantage of its weaknesses. But Keir Starmer, who has repeatedly called for Boris Johnson to resign, is being targeted by a police investigation, which is suspected of violating health rules for sharing beers and curries with his team at the end of April 2021 before a partial legislative.
In Northern Ireland, where 90 elected members of Stormont’s local assembly have been renewed, the counting of votes began on Friday morning and could continue on Saturday or beyond.
A political earthquake is imminent: polls give Sinn Féin the lead in the local assembly for the first time in a hundred years of British provincial history, under tension since Brexit.
A victory for Sinn Féin, the former political showcase of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) paramilitary organization, will propel its vice-president Michelle O’Neill to the position of head of local government, which should be led jointly. -with nationalists and unionists. under the 1998 peace agreement.
This will start a possible reinterpretation of the United Kingdom: the party advocates reunification with the Republic of Ireland, even if it puts this claim back in the background in favor of social issues. The mark of the unaligned center will also be checked.
The risk of a political paralysis is mounting. DUP Unionist leader Jeffrey Donaldson reiterated on Thursday that his party would refuse to participate in a new executive if the British government refused to act on the difficulties caused by customs controls after Brexit, according to Unionists are threatening the area. of the province within the United Kingdom.
Source: Radio-Canada
