Defeat in two crunch by-elections and the surprise resignation of the Conservative Party co-chairman has threatened to pitch the leadership of Boris Johnson into a fresh crisis. “There will still be some tough times ahead, no doubt people will continue to beat me up and say this or that to attack me,” Mr Johnson said. “In the end, voters, journalists, they have no-one else to make their complaints to, I have to take that.”The Prime Minister also insisted that such defeats were typical of mid-term governments. Veteran Tory MP and long-standing critic of Mr Johnson, Sir Roger Gale, said the Prime Minister had “trashed” the party’s reputation. Despite some early speculation in the wake of the by-election results, Mr Dowden was the sole Cabinet minister to tender his resignation.

Source: The Times June 24, 2022 23:38 UTC