Boris Johnson has faced a double hammer blow to his authority after the Conservatives lost the Wakefield and Tiverton and Honiton by-elections the same night, prompting party chairman Oliver Dowden to resign.
Labor took Wakefield, while the Liberal Democrats annulled a majority of more than 24,000 to snatch Tiverton and Honiton.
It is believed that the result of Tiverton and Honiton, where Lib Dem candidate Richard Foord defeated Conservative Helen Hurford by 6,144 votes to take a constituency that has been conservative in its various forms for more than a century, is believed which is the numerical majority. never annulled in by-elections.
Labor candidate Simon Lightwood is declared the winner of the Wakefield by-election. Photography: Ian Forsyth / Getty Images
More of a Labor victory was expected in Wakefield as Labor had consistently occupied the seat before the 2019 election, but Simon Lightwood’s 4,925 majority against Conservative Nadeem Ahmed is a big boost for Keir Starmer in the battle to reclaim the seats of the “red wall.”
Johnson is in Rwanda for the Commonwealth Heads of Government summit, before traveling to the G7 and NATO summits in Germany and Spain, keeping him out of the country for the next week. But in his absence, the double loss could push Tory backbenchers to try to restart efforts to oust him.
Speaking to Kigali broadcasters, Johnson said the results were the result of “many things”, including pressures on the cost of living, and pledged to continue.
“We need to recognize that there are more things we need to do, and we certainly will, we will continue, addressing people’s concerns until we overcome that patch,” he said.
In a letter to Johnson, Dowden said the by-elections were “the last of a series of very poor results for our party,” adding, “Our fans are distressed and disappointed by recent events, and I share their feelings.
“We can’t go on with our business as usual. Someone has to take responsibility and I have come to the conclusion that in these circumstances it would not be right for him to continue in office.
Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, a veteran MP who is part of the executive of the 1922 Conservative Committee of Deputies, said it was possible that his colleagues would have to “take steps to have a new prime minister”.
He said: “I will take into account what my members say, then I will talk extensively about this issue with my colleagues. We will listen to what the Prime Minister says and then we will have to make difficult decisions, no doubt.”
Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey said the Tiverton and Honiton result meant it was time for Conservative MPs to “do the right thing” and remove the prime minister.
He said: “This should be a wake-up call for all those Conservative MPs who support Boris Johnson. They cannot afford to ignore this result.”
Keir Starmer said Wakefield’s victory showed the country “has lost confidence in the Tories.” “This result is a clear judgment on a Conservative party that has run out of energy and ideas,” he said.
After Johnson won a vote of confidence after the controversy over the Downing Street parties that broke the blockade, party rules mean he is officially safe from a similar challenge for a year. However, these rules may change.
The results came within ten minutes of each other, on either side at 4 p.m. First came Wakefield, where Lightwood won easily, garnering 13,166 votes, compared to Ahmed’s 8,241, a 12% swing for Labor.
Supporters of the work to the Earl of Wakefield. Photography: Ian Forsyth / Getty Images
In Tiverton and Honiton, Foord oversaw a 30% swing in the Lib Dems, garnering 22,537 votes to 16,393 for Hurford.
The Conservative candidate, who had endured a sometimes tricky campaign, locked herself in a room reserved for media interviews at the West Devon count, according to a refusal to speak to the press.
In his victory speech, Foord thanked voters in the constituency, including Labor supporters who, he said, had “lent” their support to help him win.
The scale of the tactical vote, which saw Labor win 1,562 votes in Tiverton and Honiton, while the Lib Dem candidate in Wakefield garnered just 508, will further alarm Conservative officials and MPs.
The by-elections were called after the respective deputies resigned in disgrace. Imran Ahmad Khan resigned from Wakefield after being convicted of sexually assaulting a teenager, while Neil Parish resigned from Tiverton and Honiton after watching pornography in the Commons.
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The result is another milestone for the Lib Dems, who held the Conservative seat in North Shropshire, with a Brexit-like mentality, in a by-election in December, nullifying a Conservative majority of almost 23,000 to win after the former MP Owen Paterson resigned from a pressure scandal. .
This followed a Lib Dems victory in June last year at Chesham and Amersham, a suburban belt constituency in north-west London, which sparked concern among Conservative MPs that dozens of similar seats of “blue wall” could fall in the midst of a widespread antipathy by Johnson among conservative voters of a more liberal mindset.
The feeling that Johnson is no longer an electoral asset, along with the parties, could cause Conservative MPs to turn decisively against the prime minister, although a new challenge before the autumn is considered unlikely.