British Prime Minister Sunak avoids wipeout in key elections

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Johnson's old constituency in a setback for the main opposition Labour Party. The votes were one of the last electoral tests before a general election expected next year and had been seen as an indicator of the two main parties' prospects.

The problems facing the prime minister were highlighted by the opposition Labour party securing its biggest by-election victory since World War Two in a formerly safe Conservative parliamentary seat in Selby and Ainsty. The Conservatives suffered another crushing loss in another vote but narrowly retained Johnson's former seat by fewer than 500 votes in a huge relief for Sunak avoided becoming the first British leader to lose three by-elections on a single day in more than half a century ago.

Sunak, a former finance minister and investment banker, has tried to use his technocratic leadership to restore the Conservatives' credibility after a series of scandals last year forced Boris Johnson to resign, and economic turmoil forced his successor, Liz Truss, who quit after just six weeks. With stubbornly high inflation, economic stagnation, rising taxes and mortgages rates, industrial unrest, and long waiting times to use the state-run health service, the Conservatives had been braced for the possibility of losing all three contests in Thursday's by-elections.

Sunak's Conservatives are trailing the opposition Labour party by 20 points in national opinion polls, which suggests the ruling party will fail to win a fifth consecutive general election. But Labour's loss in Uxbridge shows its lead in the polls may not translate into to a clear parliamentary majority.