The Conservative party lost two seats in the by-election today, losing the Tiverton and Honiton seat to the Liberal Democrat party and the Wakefield seat to Labour.
The defeat comes hot on the heels of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s latest wave of scandal, with the Tories still working to stamp out the flames from ‘partygate.’
Adding to Johnson’s strained party morale, Conservative chair Oliver Dowden handed in his resignation earlier today, serving to throw additional fuel on the fire.
“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,” wrote Dowden.
The loss of the Conservative seats follows a vote of confidence against Johnson earlier in June, where his own party split down the middle in a bid to kick him out of his leadership role.
The verdict saw him maintain his position, however 148 members of the Tory party voted to have him evicted, with his supporters growing ever thinner.
The Tiverton and Honiton seat was won with a 30% swing on the back of former MP Neil Parish quitting after he was discovered watching adult videos in Parliament.
The votes beat a Conservative majority of 24,239, the highest number ever overturned in a by-election on record.
The Tories lost the Wakefield seat to Labour in a 12.7% swing, gaining victory by 4,925 votes.
The win marks the party’s first by-election victory over the Conservatives since 2012, with the result coming in as Labour’s best intake for Wakefield since 2001 and its best result ever on those boundaries.