Prime Minister Boris Johnson vows to ‘keep going’ following by-election defeats
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The Prime Minister acknowledged yesterday that losing the former Tory stronghold of Tiverton and Honiton to the Liberal Democrats and surrendering Wakefield to Labour was “tough”.
But, speaking 4,000 miles away in Rwanda, where he is at a Commonwealth summit, Mr Johnson vowed to “listen” to voters after the dramatic swing away from the Tories in the Devonshire constituency.
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Hide AdConservative Party co-chairman Oliver Dowden quit, saying he and Tory supporters are “distressed and disappointed by recent events” and telling Mr Johnson that “someone must take responsibility”.
Mr Johnson spoke to Chancellor Rishi Sunak by phone for his daily meeting after receiving a warning call from Mr Dowden after an early-morning swim at his hotel.
Speaking to broadcasters, Mr Johnson said he would take responsibility, but insisted the cost-of-living crisis was the most important issue for voters and it is “true that, in mid-term, governments post-war lose by-elections”.
“It’s absolutely true we’ve had some tough by-election results.
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Hide Ad“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,” he said at the conference centre in Kigali.
“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’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.”
In an interview with Channel 4 News, Mr Johnson added: “I, of course, take responsibility for the electoral performance of the Government.”
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Hide AdMr Dowden, who was due to appear on the morning media round for the Government before resigning, said in his letter to the PM the by-elections “are the latest in a run of very poor results for our party”.
“Our supporters are distressed and disappointed by recent events, and I share their feelings,” he said. “We cannot carry on with business as usual. Somebody must take responsibility and I have concluded that, in these circumstances, it would not be right for me to remain in office.”
The MP ended his letter by saying: “This is a deeply personal decision that I have taken alone.”
l Morning View, page 10