London:  Friday saw a setback for the main opposition Labour Party as the ruling Conservatives of British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak lost two strategically significant parliamentary seats but unexpectedly kept Boris Johnson's old district.

The elections were one of the last electoral tests before the general election that is anticipated for next year and were seen as a predictor of the future of the two major parties.

The opposition Labour party won its largest by-election victory since World War Two in Selby and Ainsty, a formerly safe Conservative parliamentary seat, underscoring the difficulties the prime minister is facing.

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It was a huge relief for Sunak to avoid becoming the first British leader to lose three by-elections on the same day in more than 50 years as the Conservatives narrowly retained Johnson's former seat by less than 500 votes.

After a series of scandals last year forced Boris Johnson to resign and his replacement, Liz Truss, to resign after just six weeks, Sunak, a former finance minister and investment banker, has attempted to use his technocratic leadership to restore the Conservatives' credibility.

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The Conservatives had prepared for the possibility of losing all three races in Thursday's by-elections due to persistently high inflation, economic stagnation, rising taxes and mortgage rates, industrial unrest, and protracted wait times for the publicly funded healthcare system.

National opinion polls show Sunak's Conservatives trailing the opposition Labour party by 20 points, which suggests the ruling party won't succeed in winning a fifth straight general election.

However, Labour's defeat in Uxbridge indicates that despite its lead in the polls, it may not actually hold a decisive parliamentary majority.
According to John Curtice, the most well-known pollster in Britain, a hung parliament is the most likely result of the upcoming general election, which must be held by January 2025, based on Labour's performance in Uxbridge.

The Conservatives still have a long way to go before it appears as though they might have a chance of remaining in power following the next general election, he said, adding that the tide is still far out for them.

After Johnson's shocking decision to resign from parliament last month following his admission of making false statements about events held in Downing Street during the coronavirus pandemic, the Conservatives unexpectedly won back the seat in Uxbridge and South Ruislip.

In his victory speech, the newly elected member of parliament Steve Tuckwell claimed that local rather than national factors had contributed to his party's victory, citing the Labour mayor of London's decision to expand the ultra-low emission zone to include suburban areas like Uxbridge.

The Conservatives' weaknesses were revealed by the other election results on Friday, which included the loss of two traditionally strongholds in the southwest and a rural seat in the north of England, despite the fact that the party had won sizable majorities in both regions at the previous general election in 2019.

After a Johnson ally resigned in support of the former prime minister, Labour defeated the Conservatives by 4,000 votes in the Yorkshire district of Selby and Ainsty.

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After a third member of parliament resigned over allegations of sexual harassment and cocaine use, the centrist Liberal Democrats were able to defeat the Conservatives in Somerton and Frome in southwest England, overturning their 19,213-vote majority.
While the Conservatives continue to lose supporters in the south, Curtice claimed that Labour's defeat in Uxbridge demonstrates the "potential fragility" of the party's lead in the polls.

In the wake of these results, the two major political party leaders "have been left with something to think about," he said.

As he chooses his team to run in the upcoming general election, Sunak is anticipated to reshuffle his senior ministers soon.
Ben Wallace, the departing defense minister, said on Tuesday that the adjustments might be made within the next few days or during the first week of September.