He coined it “we can’t carry on with business as usual.” in a message to the Prime Minister.
Dowden’s resignation came hours after the Conservatives lost seats to the opposition Labor Party and the Liberal Democrats in constituencies, as defeats will stoke tension in the Conservatives and renew questions about Johnson’s leadership.
The Prime Minister, who is in Rwanda for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, said, “I am not going to pretend these are great results. We have to listen, we have to learn.” When asked at a press conference if he was concerned that his party’s critics were plotting against him while he was abroad, he said “no.”
Johnson is away from Britain for several days. After the Commonwealth summit, he heads to Germany for the G7 meeting and then to Spain for the NATO summit.
The Prime Minister’s Conservatives were struggling at the polls amid a cost-of-living crisis and revelations that he and his crew had breached lockdown rules, leading to Johnson becoming the first British prime minister to be fined while in office.
Rishi Sunak, Minister of the Treasury, chirp Johnson’s support. “We all take responsibility for the results and I am determined to continue working to address the cost of living,” he said. Sunak was once considered a potential successor to Johnson, but his star has waned in recent months.
Others, including former Conservative Party leader Michael Howard, said Johnson should resign “for the good of the country”. He told the BBC that it might be time for the Conservative Party to change its rules to enable a new challenge to be led.
Johnson recently won a cliffhanger award Vote of no confidence At his command, they were called by disgruntled colleagues who wanted to overthrow him. Under current rules, no further vote can be held for a year.
The special election was triggered by the high-profile resignations of two Tory MPs. Neil Parrish of Tiverton and Honiton quit after he was caught watching pornography in the House of Commons. Imran Ahmed Khan of Wakefield was found guilty of sexually assaulting a teenage boy.
Conservatives still control the 650-seat House of Representatives. But losses would be worrying for the party, with signs of a tactical anti-Conservative vote and defeats in symbolic constituencies.
In the seats of Tiverton and Honiton in southwest England, The Liberal Democrats won 53 percent of the vote, compared to the Conservatives’ 39 percent. The loss in this area, sometimes called the “blue wall” – Tiverton’s conservative voice for more than a century – raises questions about other Tory seats that are thought to be too safe.
Liberal Democrats leader Ed Davey hailed the decision as “the biggest by-election victory our country has ever seen.” It was the third time last year that the Liberal Democrats won seats from the Conservatives in areas that had previously enjoyed a healthy majority of the Conservative Party.
Meanwhile, the main opposition Labor Party won in Wakefield, a former industrial district in northern England – part of the powerful Labor “red wall” district that Johnson’s Conservative party won in 2019 with a pledge to “get Brexit done”. Analysts said the result was less about voter enthusiasm for Labor than the discontent of Conservative voters. They also said there were indications that a tactical vote by the Labor Party and the Liberal Democrats could harm the Conservatives if it is repeated in the next election.
“Johnson’s problem is not just that he has lost popularity,” said John Curtis, professor of politics at the University of Strathclyde. In the five special elections since his party won a landslide in 2019, it is “absolutely clear that opposition voters are willing to vote for who is better than defeating the Conservatives domestically”. In some cases where work has been done; In other countries, the Liberal Democrats.
Curtis said, if there were elections today, Polls It indicates that no party will ever win. The major political parties will need allies to amass a majority.
“The Conservative Party’s lack of allies will be of critical importance,” he said. “If the Conservatives can’t get a majority or something in the next election, they’re jammed.”
The next general election is scheduled for January 2025.
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