New election defeat for Boris Johnson’s Tories; The party chair recedes

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LONDON – The leadership of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson suffered a new blow on Friday with the resignation of his party leader.

Oliver Dowden, the leader of the ruling Conservative Party and an early supporter of Johnson, resigned after his party lost two special parliamentary elections, openly saying “someone should be held accountable”.

“We can’t continue the business as usual,” he wrote In a letter To the Prime Minister.

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His resignation Just hours after the Conservatives lost seats to the opposition Labor Party and the Liberal Democrats, the defeats will send shivers down the spines of the Tories and renew questions about Johnson’s leadership.

Johnson, who is in Rwanda for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, told reporters, “I am not going to pretend that these are wonderful results. We need to listen and learn. When he was out of the country, when asked if critics in his own party were worried about a conspiracy against him, Johnson said “no.”

Johnson has been away from the UK for several days. After the Commonwealth Summit, he travels to Germany for a seven-member delegation, and then to Spain for the NATO summit.

Johnson became the first British Prime Minister to be fined while in office amid a cost-of-living crisis and revelations that he and his staff have violated the lawsuit of Covid Lockdown.

Rishi Sunak, Treasurer, Has tweeted that His support for Johnson. “We are all responsible for the results and I am committed to continuing to work to tackle the cost of living,” he said. Chunak was once considered Johnson’s potential successor, but his star has been declining in recent months.

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Others, including former Conservative leader Michael Howard, have called for Johnson to resign “for the good of the country.” He told the BBC it was time for the Conservative Party to change its rules.

Johnson recently won a cliffhanger No-confidence vote Under his leadership, he was summoned by disgruntled colleagues who wanted to oust him. Under current rules, another vote cannot be called for one year.

Two special parliamentary elections were triggered The following High resignations by Conservative legislators. Neil Parish, Deverton and Honeyden’s lawyer, has resigned after being caught watching pornography in the House of Commons. Imran Ahmed Khan of Wakefield has been charged with sexually assaulting a teenage boy.

They represented only two seats in the Conservatives’ 650-seat parliament. But with signs of a tactical vote against the Tories and defeats in constituencies of minor importance, the losses will worry the party.

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In the south-west of England, with the presence of Diverton and Honeydon, The Liberal Democrats received 53 percent of the vote and the Conservative Party 39 percent. The loss in this area, sometimes referred to as the “blue wall” because of its historic Conservative support – Dwerton voted for the Conservative Party more than a century ago – raises questions about other Conservative sites that are considered more secure.

Ed Davy, leader of the Liberal Democrats, hailed it as “the biggest by-election victory our country has ever seen.” This is the third time in the past year that the Liberal Democrats have seized seats from the Conservatives in areas where the formerly healthy Tory had a majority.

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Meanwhile, Labor, the main opposition party, won in Wakefield, a former industrial area of ​​the north of the UK – part of a once-determined working-class “red wall” in the north, with Johnson’s Conservatives vowing to “finish Brexit” in the 2019 general election. . ”Analysts said the district’s decision was more about voter interest in the Labor Party than dissatisfaction among Conservative voters.

“Johnson’s problem is not only that he has lost his popularity,” said John Curtis, a professor of politics at the University of Strathclyde. Of the five seats captured since Johnson led his party to an overwhelming majority in 2019, “it is clear that opposition voters are ready to vote for whoever can best defeat the Conservatives at home.” In some cases it is labor; Among others, the Liberal Democrats.

If the election takes place today, Curtis said, the Recent polls Neither party will win outright, meaning the major political parties will need allies to unite the majority.

“It is very important for the Tory party not to have allies.

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