Boris Johnson's future in peril as Conservative Party hit with double election losses
Labour's Simon R. Lightwood won the West Yorkshire seat of Wakefield, in northern England, with a majority of 4,925 on a swing of 12.7 percentage points from the Conservatives to Labour.
Moments later, Liberal Democrat Richard J. Foord won the Tiverton and Honiton by-election in Devon, western England, with a dramatic swing of almost 30 points. The Conservatives had held the seat with a majority of more than 24,000 votes, so the win was one of the biggest ever majorities to be overturned at a UK parliamentary by-election.
'Boris has got to go'
Speaking at Tiverton, Liberal Democrat leader Edward J. Davey urged the ruling Conservative Party to oust its leader, saying "Boris Johnson has got to go," PA Media reported.
"The only people who can show Boris Johnson the door are his own party," he said, adding: "If you continue to allow Boris Johnson to drift along with no plan for our country -- the Liberal Democrats will come after you, seat by seat."
Johnson said the UK government needs to "listen to the results" of the crushing by-election losses, which prompted the Conservative Party's own chairman Oliver Dowden to resign from his role.
'I've got to listen to what people are saying'- Johnson
Speaking during a pooled interview during a visit to Rwanda, Johnson called the "tough" results a "reflection of a lot of things," acknowledging that British voters are "going through a tough time at the moment."
"As a government I've got to listen to what people are saying. And, to the difficulties people are facing over the cost of living, which is I think, for most people, the number one issue," Johnson remarked.
Thursday's by-elections were triggered by high-profile resignations of Conservative lawmakers -- one who admitted watching porn inside the chamber of the UK parliament, and another found guilty of sexually abusing a teenage boy.
Friday's defeats come in the wake of the damaging Partygate scandal in which lockdown-busting events took place in Downing Street, and a confidence vote in Johnson's leadership earlier this month where more than 41% of lawmakers from his own party voted to get rid of him.
Johnson has faced numerous other scandals that have hit his standing in the polls -- despite his 80-seat landslide victory just two-and-a-half years ago. These include accusations of using donor money inappropriately to pay for a refurbishment of his Downing Street home and whipping MPs to protect a colleague who had breached lobbying rules (CNN).
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The same man who trying to cripple our beloved BVI is always in the forefront of corruption and no covinece yet there are people amongst us that continue to believe he should lead us into the right direction. We need help