Politics RECAP: Former leader of Conservative Party Michael Howard calls for Boris Johnson to resign
Oliver Dowden has resigned as chairman of the Conservative Party after it suffered two by-election defeats, saying in a letter to Prime Minister Boris Johnson that “someone must take responsibility”.
In Tiverton and Honiton the Liberal Democrats overturned a 24,000 Tory majority to win, while in Wakefield, Simon Lightwood was elected with a majority of 4,925 on a swing of 12.7% from the Tories to Labour.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide Ad
Wakefield was one of the so-called red wall seats won by the Tories in the 2019 general election after being Labour since the 1930s.
Boris Johnson has said he will “listen” to voters but will “keep going” after the Tories suffered a double by-election defeat.
Politics LIVE: Pressure mounts on Boris Johnson as Oliver Dowden resigns as Tory chair after Conservatives lose two by-elections
Boris Johnson has said he will “listen” to voters but will “keep going” after the Tories suffered a double by-election defeat.
The PM has thanked Oliver Dowden after he resigned as Tory party co-chairman.
Speaking to broadcasters in Kigali, the Prime Minister: “It’s absolutely true we’ve had some tough by-election results, they’ve been, I think, a reflection of a lot of things, but we’ve got to recognise voters are going through a tough time at the moment.
“I think, as a Government, I’ve got to listen to what people are saying, in particular to the difficulties people are facing over the cost of living, which, I think, for most people is the number one issue.
“We’re now facing pressures on the cost of living, we’re seeing spikes in fuel prices, energy costs, food costs – that’s hitting people.
“We’ve got to recognise there is more we’ve got to do and we certainly will, we will keep going, addressing the concerns of people until we get through this patch.”
Boris Johnson sought to deflect from the by-election defeats being about his leadership.
He told broadcasters in Rwanda: “That may be your view. I think that what governments also have to recognise is that I don’t want to minimise the importance of what voters are saying, but it is also true that in mid-term, government, post-war, lose by-elections.
“I think if you look back to last May the truly astonishing thing was we managed to win Hartlepool in very different circumstances.
“What we need to do now is reflect on where voters are, and what they are basically feeling is that we came through Covid well and we took a lot of the right decisions there. But we are facing pressures on the costs of living.
“We are seeing spikes in fuel prices, energy costs, food costs, that is hitting people. We have to recognise that there is more that we have got to do and we certainly will, we will keep going addressing the concerns of people until we get through this patch.”
Boris Johnson has said he will “keep going” after his authority was dealt a series of blows by a double by-election defeat which triggered the resignation of a Cabinet minister.
The Prime Minister acknowledged on Friday that losing the former Tory stronghold of Tiverton and Honiton to the Lib Dems as well as surrendering Wakefield to Labour was “tough”, but he insisted he was pushing on, and vowed to “listen” to voters.
Conservative Party co-chairman Oliver Dowden quit, saying he and Tory supporters are “distressed and disappointed by recent events”, telling Mr Johnson that “someone must take responsibility”.
Mr Johnson, speaking to broadcasters 4,000 miles away in Rwanda, where he is at a Commonwealth summit, thanked Mr Dowden for his “excellent” service in the role.
Tory MP Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP who is treasurer of the party’s influential 1922 Committee of backbench MPs. has told the BBC that he party is in a precarious situation,
He describes the by-election losses as a “very serious and large defeat in two completely different areas of the country”.
The Conservative Party need to “think very carefully about the future and how we’re going to remedy the situation” so we do stand the best possible chance of winning the next election, he says.
The Liberal Democrats needed a swing of at least 22.8 percentage points to win Tiverton & Honiton – in other words, 23 in every 100 people in the constituency who voted Conservative at the 2019 general election needed to switch directly to the Lib Dems.
Boris Johnson tried to defend his record by highlighting how the Tories won Hartlepool from Labour in May 2021.
Speaking to Channel 4 News, the Prime Minister said: “Without in any way wishing to minimise the lesson from by-elections – it was only a little over a year ago we won a Labour seat.”
Sir Ed Davey was challenged on Sky News over his claim the Liberal Democrats’ victory in Tiverton and Honiton had beaten the biggest-ever majority to be overturned in a by-election.
Presenter Kay Burley told him the party had won over the biggest-ever Conservative majority in a constituency, but said bigger Labour majorities in Glasgow, Hamilton and Ashfield had been defeated throughout by-election history.
“Just to clarify, you said it was the largest by-election overturn result of a majority in living history, that’s not right is it?” she said.
Sir Ed said: “My figures are what I’ve just given you, Kay. It’s a huge victory we can quibble about size if you like, but it’s absolutely massive.”
Louise Haigh has said she hopes Tory MPs will now remove their “deceitful, dishonest leader” following losses in Tiverton and Honiton and Wakefield.
She told BBC Breakfast: “I very much hope that Tory MPs will now reflect and recognise that the British public are sick to death of this Government that wants to divide this country, that wants to play political games, rather than resolve the very many issues that this country is facing.
“We heard time and time again that people are worried about the cost of living, they’re worried about the price of petrol, they’re worried about not being able to afford their weekly shop.
“Instead of tackling those issues, the Government have turned in on themselves and are trying to score cheap political points with the Labour Party.
“I hope that Tory MPs reflect on that now and finally remove their deceitful, dishonest leader that, quite frankly, treats this country with nothing but contempt.”
Boris Johnson has told Oliver Dowden he “completely” understands his disappointment with the by-election results.
Writing to Mr Dowden following his resignation as Tory Party chairman, Mr Johnson said: “Thank you for your letter and I am sad to see you leave Government.
“As Minister for the Cabinet Office, Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and Co-Chairman of the Conservative Party, it has been a pleasure to work alongside you for the last three years.
“In each of those roles you have given your best and focused on delivering for the British people.
“Whilst I completely understand your disappointment with the by-election results, this Government was elected with a historic mandate just over two years ago to unite and level up. I look forward to continuing to work together on that.”
Home Secretary Priti Patel said the Prime Minister told her the Government is “cracking on with task” after the double by-election defeats.
Asked what Boris Johnson said to her following the results, she told LBC: “The fact of the matter is that we’re cracking on with the task.”
Pressed on what the PM said, she said: “Yes, exactly that, absolutely, that we are carrying on, working to grow our economy and address the cost of living… and providing the leadership that we need in challenging times.
“We do that collectively, we really do as one Government working together.”
Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab has described the Conservative party losses in the by-elections being the result of a “perfect storm”.
Speaking on the Today programme on BBC Radio 4, he said: “My view is that the by-elections, both of them, were the result of the perfect storm of very difficult local scenarios, given the situations of the previously sitting Conservative MPs, plus the national headwinds, first of all, inevitably, for a mid-term government, but also, frankly, the distractions that we’ve had.
“I think the Prime Minister put it well: we need to listen very carefully, we need to take that feedback.
“I think (with) Tiverton, the most striking thing is how many of our supporters didn’t come out. We need to spend the next two years absolutely relentlessly focused on delivering our plan, without those distractions and with a real calm focus on delivering.”
Sir Keir Starmer said the Conservatives were “absolutely imploding” following the resignation of Tory party co-chairman Oliver Dowden.
Full results of Tiverton and Honiton by-election.
Liberal Democrat gain from Conservatives.
Richard Foord (LD) 22,537 (52.91%, +38.14%)
Helen Hurford (C) 16,393 (38.49%, -21.72%)
Liz Pole (Lab) 1,562 (3.67%, -15.88%)
Gill Westcott (Green) 1,064 (2.50%, -1.34%)
Andy Foan (Reform) 481 (1.13%)
Ben Walker (UKIP) 241 (0.57%, -1.06%)
Jordan Donoghue-Morgan (Heritage) 167 (0.39%)
Frankie Rufolo (FB) 146 (0.34%)
LD maj 6,144 (14.43%)
29.93% swing C to LD
Electorate 81,661; Turnout 42,591 (52.16%, -19.71%)
2019: C maj 24,239 (40.66%) – Turnout 59,613 (71.86%) Parish (C) 35,893 (60.21%); Pole (Lab) 11,654 (19.55%); Timperley (LD) 8,807 (14.77%); Reed (Green) 2,291 (3.84%); Dennis (UKIP) 968 (1.62%)
Former Conservative MP and minister Rory Stewart said Oliver Dowden’s resignation “feels like the beginning of the end” for Boris Johnson.
Sharing a copy of Mr Dowden’s resignation letter, he tweeted: “A devastating resignation for Boris Johnson because it comes from one of his earliest and most passionate supporters, who backed many of his cultural fights, and risked his reputation defending him for years.
“This feels like the beginning of the end.”
Boris Johnson spoke to Chancellor Rishi Sunak and chief whip Chris Heaton-Harris by phone after Oliver Dowden’s resignation, a Tory party source said.
The Tory source added: “He’s not going to be leaving, this is too important, he’s going onto the G7 on the basis that the biggest challenge is to get the UK and families through extremely tough economic times.
“To not be at the G7 would be an abdication of responsibility for any prime minister.”
The source said Mr Johnson was swimming in his hotel pool by 6am Kigali-time and then received the warning call from Mr Dowden before his 7am meeting.
Mr Johnson was said to be surprised by the resignation and believes there is “no rush” in replacing him as party co-chairman.
The source was attributing some blame for the electoral losses on the “nonsense” of the media’s “endless reportage and Kremlinology of partygate”.
Asked if he feared Mr Dowden was acting as an outrider for a possible leadership challenge from someone like the Chancellor, the source said: “What do I know, but I’d be astonished if it was the Chancellor.
“The PM spoke to the Chancellor this morning as he does almost every morning.”
Sir Keir Starmer has said that “if the Tories had any decency they would get out the way for the next Labour government”, as he celebrated the party’s by-election win in Wakefield.
The Labour leader met campaigners at Ossett Market on Friday alongside newly-elected Wakefield MP Simon Lightwood.
Mr Lightwood was elected to the West Yorkshire seat with a majority of 4,925 on a swing of 12.7% from the Tories to Labour.
Sir Keir told supporters in Ossett: “What a judgment this is on the Tories and Boris Johnson – out of touch, out of ideas, and if they had any decency they would get out the way for the sake of the country.
“When we do form that next Labour government, and we’re going to do it, Wakefield will go down as the birthplace of that.”
Sir Robert Buckland said he has told Boris Johnson personally that the Prime Minister needs to “look in the mirror and do better” as he told Sky News the Conservative Party is “about more than one man”.
The former Lord Chancellor admitted it was “frustrating” for those on the party’s sidelines to see a “lack of focus” from the Government, but he stopped short of calling for the Prime Minister’s resignation, saying he did not believe “throwing over the captain now” would be the right response.
“What is frustrating for those of us now on the side, if you like, is that lack of focus and a real sense of a coordinated message here about what the Government is doing and what it needs to do,” he said.
“The Conservative Party is a broad coalition of people who have different views across the centre right in politics. We need to reflect that far, far better – we’re not a sect, we’re not some iconoclastic tribe trying to overthrow the state.”