Beleaguered British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Friday urged voters and his party to stick with him, after two English districts elected opposition-party lawmakers in seats that Sunak’s Conservatives had held for years.

The results will worsen fears among Conservatives that, after 14 years in power, the party is heading for a drubbing when a national election is held in less than a year. The Tories consistently lag between 10 and 20 points behind the left-of-center Labour Party in opinion polls.