British Prime Minister Boris Johnson suffered a double blow as voters rejected his ruling Conservative Party in two special elections dominated by questions about his leadership and ethics.
He was further wounded when the party’s chairman quit after the results came out early Friday, saying Conservatives “cannot carry on with business as usual.”
The centrist Liberal Democrats overturned a big Conservative majority to win the rural southwest England seat of Tiverton and Honiton, while the main opposition Labour Party reclaimed Wakefield in northern England from Johnson’s Tories.
The contests, triggered by the resignations of Conservative lawmakers hit by sex scandals, offered voters the chance to give their verdict on the prime minister just weeks after 41% of his own MPs voted to oust him.
