The Northern Blue Wall Starts To Tumble

[Gromit]

No surprise really that the Conservative have lost in Wakefield.

The other new Tories that hold northern seats with small minorities will be pressing for Johnson to go, if they are to keep their jobs in 2 years time.

Labour won with 13,166 votes, a majority of 4921 votes. The Tories’ Nadeem Ahmed came in second with 8,241 votes.

[Buenchico]

Tiveton & Honiton has just seen a Conservative majority of over 24,000 turned into a Lib Dem one of over 6,000.

Methinks that quite a few more Tory MPs will now openly admit that it's time for a new leader if they're to have any chance at all in the next General Election.

[naomi24]

No surprise. The northern electorate didn’t vote for the candidate and they didn’t vote Conservative. They voted for Boris to get Brexit done. Regardless of leader, new Conservatives won’t be safe there. Those people have got what they wanted.

[gulliver1]

I'm H-A-P-P-Y
Wonder what Boris is having for Breakfast in Rwanda.
I hope he has egg on his face. Yippee .

[ichkeria]

The huge worry for the govt I’d have thought is that here are two seats at opposite ends of England almost: one went pretty decisively Labour in what might be a “red wall” seat but is hardly solid Labour like places such as Sedgefield etc
The other almost unthinkably went to a party who actually came third there last time: never mind what that says about Labour in the SW, it shows that people are willing to vote tactically to oust a Tory MP.
The anti Boris Johnson feeling is actually stronger in the south: many of the so called “red wall” areas are less so.

[FatticusInch]

To lose a 24,000 majority is quite some feat.
Whilst Labour will generally never do well in the south anyway it’s going to set alarm bells off in Tory HQ.
Dress it up however you like in terms of ‘mid term by elections are no indicator blah blah blah’, the people have clearly spoken and as Buenchico says(as many have previously said) the Tory MP’s in marginal seats already knew they’d be fighting for their lives, now they’ll feel like they’re sinking under.
Very much looking forward to what the likes of Mad Nad and the odious Chris Philip have to say in defence of the worst Prime Minister this country has ever had to endure, I’ll almost be watching from behind the settee as they battle to climb inside the PM’s orifice whilst publicly flogging themselves for our amusement.

[Khandro]

The Libdems won by 6,000 votes due to a campaign for tactical voting.

Up north, they reverted to what they have always been, because the main issue for them, which Boris can't seem to understand, was immigration, which he still hasn't got on top of.

[davebro]

BTW - the turnouts in both by-elections were much lower than in the General Election. Probably sensing a loss tory voters chose not to bother.

[sandra4444]

Tell him to stop in Rwanda. :))

[sandra4444]

Carrie can have a mud texture finish on the wall in Rwanda.:))

[ichkeria]

The real killer is the party chairman resigning at dawn and pointedly saying someone must take the blame (ostensibly Mr Dowden) but surely implying the PM

[ToraToraTora]

My offer is still there, the Tories provide the PM after the next election, £20 to chiridee, any takers?

[douglas9401]

Just put the money in the kitty for the Pickfords truck, Tora.

[tomus42]

I hope he's still PM going into the next election but I doubt he will be.