Resignation Dowden may become formidable opponent

There were two surprising elements to Oliver Dowden’s resignation as Conservative party co-chair. The first was that it took Downing Street by surprise. A vociferous Johnson loyalist, nobody had predicted he would be prepared to take the blame for the by election defeats.

- Peter Walker

The second surprise lay in his letter to the prime minister. Not with what he said, but with what he left out. “We cannot carry on with business as usual,” he wrote. “Somebody must take responsibility, and I have concluded that, in these circumstances, it would not be right for me to remain in office.” He added: “I will, as always, remain loyal to the Conservative party.”

While Dowden insisted he bore responsibility for the calamities in Tiverton and Honiton, and Wakefield, his words were hardly a ringing endorsement of Johnson, nor a show of continued support.