UK Conservative Party loses two seats in by-elections, retains former PM Johnson's

Sunday, July 30, 2023

The UK Conservative Party lost control of Somerton and Frome and Selby and Ainsty in July 20's by-elections while retaining Uxbridge and South Ruislip, following the resignations of Members of Parliament (MPs) David Warburton, Nigel Adams and former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, respectively.

The Conservative Party held all three seats in the last three elections, 2015, 2017, and 2019.

The Liberal Democrats' Sarah Dyke won Somerton and Frome with about 55% of the vote. Speaking after the results came in, she claimed the Conservatives had "let down and taken [voters] for granted for far too long".

David Warburton resigned from the seat in June, after the Conservative parliamentary group suspended him in April last year amid an inquiry into admitted cocaine use and alleged sexual harassment.

Labour won Selby and Ainsty with 46% of the vote share, and Keir Mather was to become the youngest member of the House of Commons at 25 years old. Mather stated the party had "rewritten the rules on where Labour can win".

The former MP for the seat, Nigel Adams, stepped down last month in favor, he stated, of private sector work. This followed him not receiving a resignation honour from Johnson.

Winning with 45% of the vote share and a majority of 495 votes, Uxbridge and South Ruislip Conservative Steve Tuckwell stated after the election Mayor of London Sadiq Khan's proposed Ultra Low Emission Zone expansion ensured the Conservatives, against it, remained in power in Uxbridge.

Johnson resigned from Parliament with immediate effect ahead of a committee's publishing of the Partygate report into the accuracy of his testimony to Parliament about alleged parties in breach of lockdown restrictions. He claimed the report was "riddled with inaccuracies and reeks of prejudice but under their absurd and unjust process I have no formal ability to challenge anything they say".

Before the results came in, the MP for Cannock Chase, Amanda Milling, declined to comment to Wikinews on the by-elections.

Since December 2021, the Conservative Party has trailed behind the Labour Party in Politico's Poll of Polls. In October, Labour reached a peak of 52% after Liz Truss became prime minister. As of July 24, Labour was polling at 46% while the Conservatives were at 26%.

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Sources

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This article features first-hand journalism by Wikinews members. See the collaboration page for more details.

Wikinews

This article features first-hand journalism by Wikinews members. See the collaboration page for more details.

Becky Morton. "Big defeats for Tories but party holds on to Uxbridge" — BBC, July 21, 2023
Andrew McDonald, Dan Bloom. "Tories take kicking in 2 UK by-elections — but hold on in Boris Johnson's old seat" — Politico, July 21, 2023
"New MPs elected at July by-elections" — UK Parliament, July 21, 2023
Nadeem Badshah. "David Warburton: Conservative MP suspended over drugs allegations to resign seat" — The Guardian, June 17, 2023
PA Media, Tim Dale. "Nigel Adams: Conservative MP says he backs party despite quitting" — BBC, June 12, 2023
Tara John, Luke McGee, Radina Gigova. "Boris Johnson resigns as MP, accusing Commons investigation of attempting to 'drive me out'" — CNN, June 9, 2023

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