2 special elections could bring more bad news for Britain’s governing Conservatives

LONDON (AP) — Voters are casting ballots Thursday in two special elections in England that could add more misery to the beleaguered governing Conservative Party as it prepares to fight a national election next year.

The Conservatives won both Tamworth in central England and Mid-Bedfordshire, north of London, by large margins during the last national election in 2019. But both constituencies’ lawmakers resigned under a cloud.

Tamworth legislator Chris Pincher quit after Parliament’s standards watchdog recommended he be suspended for “completely inappropriate” behavior after groping two men at a London private members’ club. Then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson’ s reluctance to sanction Pincher when the allegations emerged helped trigger Johnson’s ouster at the hands of his own party last year.

Mid-Bedfordshire member of Parliament Nadine Dorries resigned over the treatment of Johnson and her own failure to be appointed to Parliament’s upper chamber, the House of Lords. Dorries is a strong ally of Johnson who has blamed Prime Minister Rishi Sunak for helping to topple the former leader.

The Conservatives acknowledge they face “difficult headwinds” in both seats. Polls close at 10 p.m. (2100GMT), with results announced early Friday.

The main opposition Labour Party and the smaller Liberal Democrats hope to win the seats but have tried to manage expectations, noting that the Conservatives won substantial majorities in 2019. Labour has called both districts “super-safe Tory seats.”

Losing either one would add to pressure on the governing party, which has lost several byelections since Sunak took office just under a year ago. He replaced Liz Truss, who quit in October 2022 after her plan for unfunded tax cuts sent financial markets into turmoil and rocked the economy.

Truss spent just seven weeks in office after winning a party leadership contest to replace Johnson, who quit after three years in office when scandals over money and ethics turned party lawmakers against him.

Sunak steadied the economy but has not managed to boost the party’s rating in opinion polls, where it consistently lags between 10 and 20 points behind Labour.

The Conservatives have been in power nationally since 2010, years that saw austerity following the world banking crisis, Britain’s divisive decision to leave the European Union, a global pandemic and a European war that has triggered the worst cost-of-living crisis in decades.

Polls show the Conservatives are losing support across the country, from affluent southern voters turned off by Brexit to working-class northern voters who switched from Labour in 2019 after Johnson promised to spread prosperity to long-neglected areas.

Sunak has tried to rally support by arguing he has a long-term vision and is prepared to make tough decisions to change Britain.

Earlier this month Labour won a special election victory over the Scottish National Party in Scotland. Winning seats in Scotland, where the pro-independence SNP has long been dominant, is key to Labour’s attempt to secure a majority in the next national election, due by the end of 2024.