London (CNN) The British elections that took place on Thursday were in many ways a symbolic referendum on Boris Johnson . Most symbolically, Johnson's party took the only UK parliamentary seat up for grabs, in a special election in Hartlepool, which has been held by the Labour party since the northern English seat was created in 1974. More importantly, Johnson has managed to shift the center ground in England, a difficult feat in modern politics. Brexit was perhaps the clearest indicator of this, where people in traditional Labour areas voted for a campaign spearheaded by Johnson, the archetypal Conservative. One day, it's entirely possible Johnson may come to regret unleashing these demons for the sake of victory.

Source: CNN May 07, 2021 12:26 UTC