LONDON: Voters in two districts in England delivered new blows to beleaguered Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, electing opposition-party lawmakers in seats that Sunak’s Conservatives had held for years.Labour Party candidate Dan Egan won the House of Commons seats of Kingswood in southwest England, and Labour’s Gen Kitchen took Wellingborough in the country’s centre, results announced Friday showed. The Conservatives won both by large margins at the last national election in 2019 but saw support collapse in Thursday’s special elections.The hard-right Reform party — formerly known as the Brexit Party — came third, putting more pressure on the Conservatives.Labour leader Keir Starmer said the results “show people want change.”The results will likely worsen fears among Conservatives that, after 14 years in power, the party is heading for defeat when a national election is held in less than a year. The Tories consistently lag between 10 and 20 points behind the left-of-center Labour in opinion polls.Thursday’s elections replaced two lawmakers who left suddenly, one in protest, the other under a cloud.Lawmaker Chris Skidmore quit the Kingswood seat last month to protest Sunak’s lack of commitment to green energy. Long-serving Wellingborough legislator Peter Bone was ousted over allegations of bullying and sexual misconduct.
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