In another sign that British Prime Minister Gordon Brown is in real trouble, his Labour Party was beaten in a by-election last week. Coming on the heels of a crushing defeat in local elections earlier this month, Labour looks exhausted and desperate for a turnaround in its fortunes. With the British economy on the ropes, no lifeline is apparent.
In Friday's vote, the Conservative Party candidate easily won the Crewe and Nantwich seat in Parliament that has been in Labour's hands since it was created in 1983 — since 1945 if a previous incarnation of the district is included — marking the first Labour defeat in a special election in three decades. The 49-31 Conservative-Labour tally was the exact opposite of the results in the 2005 general election.
The results, like those of local elections held at the beginning of the month, reflect concern about Mr. Brown's handling of the government at a time of economic unease. The vote came as the government announced that the economy had grown just 0.4 percent in the first quarter of 2008, the slowest expansion in three years. With costs rising and housing markets softening, consumers are worried.