It’s a victory “Historical”, according to them. The British Conservative Party managed to get a Member of Parliament elected in Hartlepool, for the first time in more than fifty years in this Labor and pro-Brexit stronghold, inflicting a real snub on Labor and its leader, Keir Starmer.
Jill Mortimer, who will succeed the outgoing elected official, who resigned due to accusations of sexual harassment, collected more than 15,000 votes, almost doubling the score of her Labor and Europhile opponent. This victory strengthens the Conservatives after their taking, during the legislative elections of 2019, of the “Red wall” Labor, those regions of northern England affected by deindustrialisation and favorable to Brexit.
“If there is one lesson to be learned from all this campaigning across the UK, it is that the public wants us to continue to focus on their needs and priorities.”British Prime Minister Boris Johnson told Hartlepool, where he came to congratulate the winning candidate. He has indeed passed without incident his first electoral test since the Conservative tidal wave in the legislative elections and the entry into force of Brexit. “It’s a place that voted for Brexit. We have achieved Brexit and thanks to this we can do other things ”, he added.
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Progression of the Conservatives
The counts of the local polls organized in the country will continue throughout the weekend, but for Boris Johnson the first results are in any case “Very encouraging”. They show that the Tories have made progress all over England and particularly in the north, for example gaining control of the local council of Northumberland.
“Let’s not forget: Johnson achieved Brexit, PM is popular among voters who voted ‘leave’ [en faveur du Brexit], the Tory government spent astronomical sums during the pandemic and spearheaded a very successful vaccination campaign ” against Covid-19, “And the economy is rebounding”, analyzed on Twitter Jane Green, professor of political science at the University of Oxford. Elements which weigh more heavily than the very poor record of the pandemic (more than 127,000 dead) and the recent scandals which have highlighted the very close links between power and private interests.
Humiliation for Labor
For Labor opposition leader Keir Starmer, this is a humiliation, and a bad omen for his goal of rebuilding Labor before the next general election in 2024. With a more centrist line than that of his predecessor Jeremy Corbyn, he had promised to put the party back on track by taking the head of the formation a few months after its debacle in the legislative elections.
“This is the most spectacular illustration that the party has so far failed to approach the voters of the working classes who have voted “Leave” “, said John Curtice, an expert on British elections, on the BBC.
Calls for change quickly arose among Labor. “Keir Starmer needs to think twice about his strategy”, tweeted MP Diane Abbott. “We are retreating into areas where we have to win. The head of Labor must urgently change direction ”, added his colleague Richard Burgon.
The by-election was held as part of a local and regional ballot in England, Scotland and Wales, the largest in nearly fifty years, postponed for a year due to the pandemic.
Suspense in Scotland
Forty-eight million voters were called to renew some 5,000 seats in 143 local assemblies in England, as well as the Welsh and Scottish Parliaments, and 13 mayors, including that of the capital, London. Labor Sadiq Khan, who in 2016 became the first Muslim mayor of a large western capital, is favored for a second term against his main opponent, the conservative Shaun Bailey.
In Scotland, where the Parliament is renewed, the future of the United Kingdom is at stake. The separatists of the Scottish National Party in power (SNP), formation of the first Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, hope for a large victory to pave the way for a new referendum of self-determination. The first results are expected for Saturday evening.
Boris Johnson strongly opposes this, believing that a consultation like the one in 2014, which voted 55% in favor of staying in the UK, could not happen. “Once per generation”. Supporters of a new referendum point out that Brexit, to which the Scots were 62% opposed, was a game-changer.
After months of polls promising a surge of the SNP and a majority in favor of independence, the SNP could however be disillusioned, more recent surveys predicting a less striking victory than hoped. “It really is played on a razor’s edge”, recognized, Thursday, Nicola Sturgeon.
