The U.K.’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson – facing the first big test since his 2019 victory after elections were postponed due to the COVID War – saw his Conservative Party snag a seat in Hartlepool, in northern England, which the Labor Party has held since 1974. Johnson said,
“I think what this election shows is that people want a party and a government that is focused on them, focused on delivering change… what’s happened now is they see we did get Brexit done. And I think what people want us to do now is to get on with delivering on everything else.”
Johnson’s Conservative party made gains across the country, but the victory in Hartlepool, which the Financial Times reported is the country’s “tenth most deprived town,” was a “landmark result.” Jill Mortimer, a farmer in North Yorkshire, carried the town’s vote.
Sir Keir Starmer, the Labor leader, said he took “full responsibility” for the poor performance. The Guardian reported that some critics said the Labor Party should have shifted faster to the center.
“We have changed as a party, but we’ve not made a strong enough case to the country,” Starmer said. “We’ve lost that connection, that trust, and I intend to do whatever is necessary to rebuild that trust.”
TRENDPOST: Among the reasons Boris Johnson won, according the Financial Times and other media, is because he benefited from a “vaccine bounce” – he has been praised for the country’s vaccine rollout compared to other European nations.
Yes, when compared to other European nations, but, in total, only 29 percent of Brits are fully vaccinated (compared to 37 percent in the U.S.).
And, it should be noted that as a result of Boris Johnson’s lockdown measures, this year, the U.K. suffered its worst recession in 300 years.
