Scandal-hit UK PM Boris Johnson faces local elections test
- Poor showing in local elections this Thursday might provoke a leadership challenge for UK PM Boris Johnson
- Support for Johnson has waned as the government grapples with a cost-of-living crisis, revelations about his conduct
Voters go to the polls in Britain on Thursday, in a midterm test for the Conservative government that could determine beleaguered Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s future.
The local election results will be seen as a barometer of support for Johnson’s Conservatives nationally, as well as an indicator of whether the opposition Labour Party poses a serious threat.
Johnson, 57, won a landslide general election victory in December 2019 on a promise to break years of political deadlock and deliver Brexit – the country’s divisive departure from the European Union.
But his position has looked increasingly fragile, because of damaging claims about lockdown-breaking parties at Downing Street and an inflationary surge that is squeezing voters’ incomes.
A police investigation last month saw him become the first British prime minister to be fined for breaking the law while in office.
Irate Tory MPs, mindful of public outrage at double standards and denials, had looked set to force a no-confidence vote in his leadership in January.