Early results from local elections in Britain’s Conservative Party showed significant losses as a test of support for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s government as a national election approaches. The Labour Party and the Liberal Democrats made significant gains.

While the majority of results were due later, the Conservatives admitted it had already been “a disappointing night” as ballots from Thursday’s voting were counted.

Conservative chairman Greg Hands, on the other hand, claimed that it had “not been a resounding result for Labour.” The left-of-center opposition party hopes the results will cement its position as the front-runner for a general election scheduled for the end of 2024.

The Conservatives had lost more than 200 seats in elections for more than 8,000 seats on 230 local councils across England with about a quarter of the results in. The right-of-center party lost control of several councils, including Medway in southeast England, which it had run for a quarter-century, and Plymouth in the southwest, which it had run for a quarter-century.

Labour took control of at least three new councils, while the centrist Liberal Democrats ousted the Conservatives in Windsor, a wealthy town west of London and home to the royal residence Windsor Castle.

While many elections focused on local issues like potholes and garbage collection, voters appeared to punish the Conservatives for the turmoil that engulfed the party under former Prime Minister Boris Johnson. He resigned amid a slew of scandals and was replaced by Liz Truss, whose rash tax-cutting plans shook financial markets, hammered the pound, and roiled the wider British economy.

Sunak, a smooth former banker, was chosen by the party to try to restore stability to the economy and the government.

Sunak stated on Friday, “It’s always disappointing to lose hard-working Conservative councillors.” He insisted, however, that “in terms of the results, it’s still early.”

The Conservatives have been in power in the United Kingdom since 2010, during which time there has been austerity in the aftermath of the global banking crisis, Britain’s divisive decision to leave the European Union, a global pandemic, and a European war that has triggered the worst cost-of-living crisis in decades.

According to Labour, the results show that many voters are eager for change. Shabana Mahmood, the party’s national campaign coordinator, said the results put Labour on track to win a majority of seats in a general election.

“These results have been a disaster for Rishi Sunak, as voters punished him for the Tories’ failure,” she said.

The findings do not represent a complete picture of the United Kingdom. London, Scotland, and Wales did not hold elections, while Northern Ireland will vote on May 18.

The election was the first since the government changed the law to require voters to show photo identification at all polling stations in the United Kingdom.

According to the government, voter identification is required in many democracies, and the move will help prevent voter fraud. According to critics, there is little evidence that electoral fraud is a problem in the United Kingdom.

Passports, driver’s licences, and senior citizens’ travelcards are all acceptable forms of identification, but youth transit passes are not. The government claims that, unlike other transit passes, an older person’s travelcard requires proof of age. However, the disparity has raised concerns that the change will disenfranchise young people, who are the group least likely to support the Conservatives. Poor people are also less likely to have photo identification than more affluent people.

The Electoral Commission, the official elections watchdog, said after the polls closed Thursday night that “overall, the elections were well-run,” but “some people were regrettably unable to vote today as a result” of the new rules.

“It will be critical to understand the extent of this impact, as well as the reasons for it, before forming a final opinion on how the policy has worked in practise and what lessons can be drawn for future elections,” the commission said in a statement.

info source – APNews