Voting is underway for local elections – a major test for British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and the ruling Conservatives just months before general elections.
The Conservatives, in power for 14 years, could lose even half of the seats they currently hold in Britain’s councils, according to opinion polls, with Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt admitting the Tories are expected to suffer “significant losses”.
Most of the seats at stake today were up for renewal in 2021, at the height of Boris Johnson’s popularity.
The voters, which include its residents European Union and the Commonwealth, are voting to elect 11 mayors and 2,500 councilors and completely revamp the make-up of the London Assembly.
Sadiq Khan favorite for re-election in London
In the British capital, Muslim Labor mayor Sadiq Khan, who is running for a third term, is seen as the favorite to face Conservative candidate Susan Hall.
All eyes are on two Conservative councillors, Andy Steele in the West Midlands and Ben Hutchen in the Tees Valley, in central and north-east England respectively. According to political commentators, his political future Rishi Sunak it may in the short term depend on their re-election, which would give him hope of recovery ahead of parliamentary elections, the date of which has not been announced by the prime minister but should be held before the end of the year.
At +20% in the opinion polls Labor vs Sunak’s Conservatives
Labor are favorites for the general election and opinion polls give them a twenty percentage point lead over the Conservatives.
Blackpool voters are being asked to choose their new MP today after Tory Scott Benton resigned in March over a lobbying scandal. And in this election, the Labor Party is considered the favorite.
According to iefimerida, for the first time in local elections voters are required to present an identification document.
The heavily criticized measure was introduced by the Conservatives into law in 2022 and aims to combat counterfeiting. Passport, driver’s license, even the bus card for the elderly are accepted as proof of identity.
The polling stations will close at 22.00 local time (00.00 Greek time), as reported by APE-MPE, and the results are expected from Friday to Sunday.
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