UK opposition wins special election in blow to Sunak’s party

By JILL LAWLESS
Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s opposition Labour Party has handily won a special election for a northwest England seat in Parliament. It’s the first test of voter sentiment since Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak took office in October. Labour held onto the City of Chester constituency with an increased vote share of 61%. Labour won 50% of the votes in Chester at the last national election in 2019. Labour leader Keir Starmer said the result showed people are “fed up” with the Conservative government. The result is bad news for the Conservatives, whose popularity has been hammered by the scandal-plagued three-year-term of former Prime Minister Boris Johnson and weeks of turmoil under his short-term successor, Liz Truss.