Johnson dealt fresh blow after party loses special election

LONDON • Mr Boris Johnson suffered a seismic political upset yesterday as his ruling Conservatives lost a key parliamentary election, a result that will heap intense pressure on the British Prime Minister and may even call his position into question.

The Liberal Democrats capitalised on weeks of turmoil and plummeting poll ratings for Mr Johnson and his Conservative Party to overturn a huge Tory majority and take the North Shropshire seat in the West Midlands that the ruling party had held for almost two centuries.

Mr Johnson said yesterday he understood the frustrations of voters in North Shropshire, and he accepted, and took responsibility for, their verdict.

"Clearly the vote in North Shropshire is a very disappointing result and I totally understand people's frustrations. I hear what the voters are saying in North Shropshire and, in all humility, I have got to accept that verdict," he told reporters. "Of course I take personal responsibility."

The collapse in Tory support piles pressure on Mr Johnson to prove to his own colleagues that he has a grip on government and can still be relied on to guide the party to victory in the next general election due by 2024.

"This has to be seen as a referendum on the Prime Minister's performance, and I think that the Prime Minister is now in 'last orders' time," veteran Conservative MP Roger Gale told BBC radio yesterday. "One more strike and he's out."

The damaging result comes at an especially sensitive time for Britain, given the surge in Covid-19 Omicron infections that threatens to overwhelm the National Health Service this winter. Mr Johnson earlier this week pushed new Covid-19 rules through Parliament, but only at the expense of the biggest Tory rebellion of his tenure so far.

The special election was triggered by the resignation of former minister Owen Paterson after he was found to have breached parliamentary rules on paid lobbying.

Mr Johnson's attempt to protect him quickly backfired and led to a damaging row over ethics and intense Tory infighting. Mr Paterson represented the seat for 24 years and was returned with a thumping majority of close to 23,000 in 2019.

But the Tory vote was slashed to 12,032, while Ms Helen Morgan of the Liberal Democrats became an MP with 17,957 votes after a massive 34 per cent swing. The main opposition Labour Party won just 3,686 votes, suggesting many of its former voters backed the Lib Dems to defeat the Conservatives in an informal alliance.

In her victory speech, Ms Morgan thanked Labour supporters and told them: "You have shown tonight that together, we can defeat the Conservatives, not with deals behind closed doors, but with common sense at the ballot box."

Mr Johnson has struggled to move past the Paterson row, and with the Tories falling behind Labour in national polls, he has faced growing questions about his leadership.

This week's 100-strong Tory rebellion over new Covid-19 rules to tackle the fast-spreading Omicron variant underlined the depth of anger among Mr Johnson's MPs, not only at his handling of the pandemic, but also over what they see as a series of self-inflicted missteps.

Special elections are known for being used as protest votes, to give the government a kicking between general elections.

In June, the Lib Dems defied pundits to take another Tory stronghold - the wealthy commuter district of Chesham and Amersham.

Parliament's Christmas break offers Mr Johnson an opportunity to reset his premiership. Although there is no sign yet of any immediate challenger, history shows the Conservative Party does not hesitate to move against its leader if he is no longer seen as a vote winner.

BLOOMBERG