N Ireland could heap pressure on Johnson

FE Team | Published: May 05, 2022 20:59:07

Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon reacts after casting her vote in local elections — AFP

LONDON, May 05 (AFP): Polls opened across the UK on Thursday in local and regional elections that could prove historic in Northern Ireland and heap further pressure on embattled Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
The contest for the devolved assembly in Belfast could see a pro-Irish nationalist party win for the first time in the troubled history of the British province.
The results, which are expected from Friday, could have huge constitutional implications for the four-nation UK's future, with predicted victors Sinn Fein committed to a vote in the province on reunification with Ireland.
Polls opened at 0600 GMT for councils in Scotland, Wales and much of England, with Johnson facing a potentially pivotal mid-term popularity test.
Poor results could reignite simmering discontent within his ruling Conservatives about his leadership, after a string of recent scandals.
Johnson, 57, won a landslide 2019 general election victory by vowing to take Britain out of the European Union, and reverse rampant regional inequality.
Despite making good on his Brexit pledge, the pandemic largely stalled his domestic plans.
But his position has been put in jeopardy because of anger at revelations of lockdown-breaking parties at his Downing Street office and a cost-of-living crisis.
Heavy losses could revive calls among Tory MPs to trigger an internal contest to oust Johnson as party leader and from power.
The polls should also point to whether the main opposition Labour party poses a serious threat, as it tries to make inroads across England despite defending the many gains it made at the last local elections in 2018.