Boris Johnson has described the double by-election defeats as 'tough' as he thanked Oliver Dowden who has resigned as Conservative Party co-chairman. In Tiverton and Honiton the Liberal Democrats overturned a 24,000 Tory majority to win, while Labour reclaimed Wakefield.
Speaking to broadcasters in Kigali, Rwanda, the Prime Minister said: “It’s absolutely true we’ve had some tough by-election results, they’ve been, I think, a reflection of a lot of things, but we’ve got to recognise voters are going through a tough time at the moment.
“I think, as a Government, I’ve got to listen to what people are saying, in particular to the difficulties people are facing over the cost of living, which, I think, for most people is the number one issue.
