By-election news - live: PM loses backing of more Tory MPs after disastrous defeats

Senior Tory MP says PM’s fall from power ‘is now a question of when, not if’

Boris Johnson fails to deny he offered Carrie Symonds top job

Boris Johnson’s support among Tory MPs has ebbed to an all-time low after the Conservatives suffered two crushing by-election losses on Thursday.

Following the double defeats in Tiverton and Wakefield, one senior Conservative MP, who backed Mr Johnson in the no-confidence vote earlier this month, told The Independent that they had now changed their mind.

“I voted for Boris last time but I just can’t see any way out of it for him right now,” they said.

“It is now a question of when, not if. The public have made up their minds. We got it wrong in hanging on to John Major in the nineties and we can’t get it wrong a second time with Johnson.”

The former Tory leader Michael Howard has also urged Mr Johnson to step down, while a cabinet minister admitted that “the mood has shifted”. 

Their statements came after the Tory party chairman Oliver Dowden resigned, citing the “disappointment” of the public over the Partygate scandal. “Someone must take responsibility,” he said.

Key points

• Tory support for Boris Johnson ebbing after disastrous by-election defeats
• PM vows to ‘listen and learn’ after by-election defeats
• Lord Howard says PM should resign as he urges cabinet to act
• Tory chair Oliver Dowden resigns after double defeat
• Dowden couldn’t go on ‘defending the indefensible’
• Lib Dems record historic victory in Tiverton & Honiton
• Labour wins Wakefield by-election

[24 June 2022 16:59 · Rory Sullivan]

People entitled to ‘attack me’ after by-election defeats, says Johnson

Boris Johnson has said he is fine with people continuing to “beat” him up and “attack” him after Thursday’s by-election defeats.

“That’s fine, that’s quite right, that is the job of politicians,” he explained.

“In the end, voters, journalists, they have no-one else to make their complaints to, I have to take that.”

The prime minister praised Oliver Dowden, who resigned from his role as Tory party chair on Friday, for his “good work”.

[24 June 2022 16:55 · Rory Sullivan]

PM fails in bid to oust Commonwealth secretary-general

The prime minister has not had the best few days.

After his party was roundly beaten in two by-elections on Thursday, his bid to oust the secretary-general of the Commonwealth failed on Friday.

He had sought to replace Baroness Scotland, a Labour peer, with the Jamaican foreign minister Kamia Johnson Smith.

However, the 54-nation body voted in Baroness Scotland for a second term during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (Chogm) on Friday.

“Much love always, I continue to serve, and of course, sincere congratulations to Baroness Scotland,” Ms Johnson Smith tweeted after the vote.

[24 June 2022 16:34 · Rory Sullivan]

Global prosperity threatened by Putin’s war, says Johnson

The prime minister’s speech in Kigali has now turned to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“Global prosperity and stability is being threatened by Vladimir Putin’s unprovoked assault on Ukraine,” Boris Johnson said.

“Many of the countries represented here in Kigali today find themselves bearing the brunt of Putin’s folly. Their populations brought closer to poverty.”

“We’re announcing a new £372 million package of UK aid and that funding will support the UN’s emergency response in the hardest hit countries,” he added.

[24 June 2022 16:27 · Rory Sullivan]

US court decision to overrule Roe v Wade a ‘big step backwards’, says Boris Johnson

Boris Johnson has hit out at the US Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v Wade, calling it a “big step backwards”.

“I’ve always believed in a woman’s right to choose,” he added.

Our political editor Andrew Woodcock has more details:

[24 June 2022 16:14 · Rory Sullivan]

PM vows to ‘listen and learn’ after by-election defeats

Boris Johnson has promised to “listen and learn” from Thursday’s by-election losses.

Speaking on a visit to Rwanda, the prime minister, who faces calls from within his own party to resign, said: “I’m not going to pretend these are brilliant results.

“We’ve got to listen, we’ve got to learn. But it wasn’t that long ago, just over a year ago, that we won a spectacular by-election victory.

“When people are finding it tough they send messages to politicians and politicians have got to respond.”

[24 June 2022 16:00 · Rory Sullivan]

Government must show ‘laser-like focus on delivery’, says Zahawi

The government must listen to voters and have a “laser-like focus on delivery”, the education secretary Nadhim Zahawi has said after the by-election results.

He did not mention the beleaguered prime minister Boris Johnson in his tweet on the subject:

[24 June 2022 15:36 · Rory Sullivan]

Attorney general backs PM after by-election defeats

The attorney general has spoken in support of Boris Johnson, following the Conservatives’ crushing by-election defeats yesterday.

Suella Braverman said the prime minister was to thank for the party’s significant majority in 2019, saying this success has “not been undermined in any way” by the recent defeats.

Speaking to the BBC, she said: “Whilst we have these two disappointing results today, I don’t think those should be extrapolated across to read as a reflection on Boris Johnson’s leadership.”

“I think right now we’ve got to learn the lessons from these elections, for sure, but also focus on the national priorities,” she added.

[24 June 2022 15:15 · Matt Mathers]

The 6 weirdest Liberal Democrat election victory stunts

The Liberal Democrats have sometimes struggled to get media attention, usually losing out in column inches to Labour and the Tories.

As a result the party has developed a flair for imaginative and eye-catching media stunts. Today Ed Davey and his party’s new MP for Tiverton and Honiton, Richard Foord, stood in front of a blue door which had “show Boris Johnson the door” written across it.

Our policy correspondent, Jon Stone, takes a look back at some of the other props the party has used at elections in the past:

[24 June 2022 15:00 · Matt Mathers]

Readers poll: If Boris Johnson is removed from office, who should replace him?

Boris Johnson is facing fresh questions about his premiership after leading the Tories to two byelection defeats last night in Wakefield and Tiverton & Honiton.

If he is eventually ousted from 10 Downing Street, who would you like to see replace him?

Have your say in our readers poll, which can be found via the link below:

[24 June 2022 14:49 · Matt Mathers]

Johnson ultra-loyalist Nadine Dorries backs PM - but other cabinet ministers remain silent

Boris Johnson ultra-loyalist Nadine Dorries has rowed in behind the prime minister following last night’s byelection defeats, saying he is delivering for the country.

Rishi Sunak, the chancellor; Dominic Raab, the deputy PM and justice secretary and Priti Patel, the home secretary, have also voiced their support for the Big Dog - after Oliver Dowden resigned.

But a significant number of other cabinet ministers - including Liz Truss, the foreign secretary - have remained silent. Ms Trusss is currently in Rwanda for the Commonwealth leaders’ summit.

“Great to be in Kigali for @CHOGM2022 for discussions on how we build a stronger, more resilient Commonwealth,” Ms Truss tweeted earlier. “As a group of democratic nations, the Commonwealth has a vital role to play in defending freedom and self-determination, and acting as a counterweight to malign actors.”

Other senior cabinet minister who have not commented on the defeats in Wakefield and Tiverton include Sajid Javid (health), Ben Wallace (defence), Nadhim Zahawi (education) and Kwasi Kwarteng (business).