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Labor officials believe they have a “mountain to climb” to win seats for Boris Johnson’s former Uxbridge and South Ruislip.
The by-election is one of three by-elections on Thursday for seats in parliament held by the Conservative Party, and the outcome could be pivotal for both Rishi Sunak and Kia Sturmer. highly sexual.
When Mr Johnson resigned from parliament more than a month ago, Lord Keir’s party was bullish about winning a seat in West London, but controversy over the expansion of London’s ultra-low emission zone (Ules) transport emissions scheme has come to the fore. It casts a shadow over the party’s election campaign, and some fear it may be rejected. It’s their victory.
Labor insiders argued that the biggest problem at hand was not Ules but the cost of living crisis and the NHS, with the party’s mayor of London Sadiq Khan extending aid to the London suburbs. .
Labor candidate Danny Beals earlier this month distanced himself from the policy, introducing an ultra-low emission zone that would tax some petrol cars built before 2006 and diesel cars built before 2016. He said he supports the postponement.
Critics of the scheme say it would impose a heavy financial burden on drivers in car-dependent London suburbs such as Uxbridge, but proponents say that the More than 90% are already compliant with Ulez standards and claim not to face any issues. charging. Payments are available for replacement of non-conforming vehicles under the scrapping system.
Labor campaign officials said the race against Conservative candidate Steve Tuckwell would be “close” and “always a big mountain to climb”.
Political parties always manage expectations before elections, but there was a change in language last month when the party’s election campaign coordinator Shabana Mahmoud said: I Labor was “fighting to win”.
However, Conservative insiders said their own polls showed Labor leading by about eight percentage points in Uxbridge, with Lord Kere’s party fully committed to the seat they’ve been eyeing since last month’s by-election announcement. said to be casting
Labor had not won Uxbridge since 1966, nor did it in 1997, when the party reached its peak popularity under Tony Blair.
Lord Kea’s controversial announcement to keep the Conservative two-child benefit cap was not raised by voters in his immediate vicinity, labor sources said. Mr Johnson and his conduct over Partygate have also not been strongly condemned, the people said.
The former prime minister held a majority of 7,210 seats in 2019, the closest of the three by-elections held on Thursday.
Labor’s failure to win at Uxbridge could trigger new fears among Labor MPs that Sir Keeah will not win voters’ support in the next general election expected in 2024. have a nature.
Sunak goes into the by-election touting two big victories. The announcement by Tata Motors to build an electric car battery plant for Jaguar Land Rover in Somerset and the better-than-expected decline in inflation to 7.9. Percent, Wednesday.
Labor’s Uxbridge election campaign coordinator, Steve Reed, told BBC News: “We have always said that this by-election will be difficult for Labor to win…we are never complacent about this. It’s not,” he said.