BELEAGUERED Boris Johnson faced yet more calls to quit last night after he was engulfed by a double by-election disaster.
But the shameless PM vowed to “keep going”, despite being widely blamed for the Tories’ defeat in crunch ballots in Devon and West Yorkshire.
Conservative chairman Oliver Dowden resigned at dawn over the election bombshells, just 30 minutes before he had been due to defend No10 in early-morning interviews.
And ex-Tory leader Lord Michael Howard led calls for Mr Johnson to go, In a damning resignation letter, Mr Dowden told Mr Johnson: “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.” His exit triggered claims other Cabinet Ministers were considering their futures over the polls bombshell.
In a stunning pincer movement, the Lib Dems overturned a 24,239 majority in Tiverton and Honiton, winning by 6,144 votes, while Labour won back the key Red Wall seat of Wakefield with a 4,925 margin.
But the premier refused to go despite admitting Tory rebels will keep “beating me up”. In Rwanda, Mr Johnson claimed he was not worried about plots back home and refused to fly back early from an eight-day trip.
This story is from the June 25, 2022 edition of Daily Mirror UK.
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This story is from the June 25, 2022 edition of Daily Mirror UK.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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