UK Ruling Conservative Party Suffers 'Crushing Defeat' in By-Election for One House Seat... Dark Clouds Over Local Elections

The ruling Conservative Party in the UK is expected to suffer a crushing defeat in a by-election for a single House of Commons seat, according to reports by the BBC and others on the 3rd (local time). The Conservative Party is also losing half of its existing local council seats in the early counts of the local elections held simultaneously, casting a shadow over the upcoming general election.

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According to the reports, in the Blackpool South parliamentary constituency, Labour Party candidate Chris Webb won overwhelmingly with 10,825 votes (58.9%). The ruling Conservative candidate David Jones received 3,219 votes (17.5%), narrowly beating Mark Butcher of the far-right Reform UK party, who got 3,101 votes (16.9%).

Blackpool South was a constituency where the Conservative candidate secured about 49% and the Labour candidate about 38% in the last general election. In other words, 20% of the Conservative support base shifted to Labour. John Curtice, a polling expert, told the BBC, "This is the third largest shift in support from the Conservative Party to the Labour Party in post-war by-election history."

The atmosphere is also growing that the Conservative Party may suffer a heavy defeat in the local elections held simultaneously. As of 11 a.m. that day, in 37 English local councils where winners were decided, Labour secured 327 seats, the Conservatives 119 seats, and the Liberal Democrats 118 seats. Labour and the Liberal Democrats increased their seats by 54 and 20 respectively compared to before, but the Conservatives lost as many as 126 seats.

These local and by-elections are considered a prelude to the next UK general election, which is expected to be held as early as this year or by January next year at the latest. The Conservative Party, led by UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, has recently been suffering consecutive defeats in by-elections and local elections.

The UK Labour Party is gaining momentum. Keir Starmer, leader of the UK Labour Party, said, "The result of the Blackpool South by-election shows that the public wants change. The public wants to turn the page on the Conservative Party's term," adding, "The message the public is sending to the Prime Minister is to hold an (early) general election and allow the UK to move forward."