UK Conservatives lose 2 elections in blow to Boris Johnson

By JILL LAWLESS
Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s leadership of the Conservative party has suffered a heavy double blow as voters rejected the Tories in two special elections. In the southwestern constituency of Tiverton and Honiton, the Liberal Democrats overturned a 24,000 Conservative majority to win, while the main opposition Labour Party reclaimed Wakefield in northern England. The contests, triggered by the resignation of Conservatives hit by scandals, offered voters the chance to give their verdict on the prime minister just weeks after 41% of his own MPs cast their ballots against him. The party’s chairman quit after the results early Friday, saying the party “cannot carry on with business as usual.”