Voters in two UK special elections deliver their verdict as gloom mounts for Sunak’s government

By JILL LAWLESS
Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — People in two districts of England are voting in special elections that could spell bad news for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. The Conservatives won the House of Commons seats of Kingswood and Wellingborough by large margins at the last national election. But after the sudden departure of the lawmakers in the two seats, the party faces the prospect of losing one or even both. That would give the Conservative government the unwanted record of suffering more by-election losses than any administration since the 1960s. It would deepen gloom among Conservatives, and add momentum to party rivals plotting against Sunak. Polls close Thursday at 10 p.m. (2200GMT), with results announced early Friday..