Brutal as they were, the twin byelection losses in Tamworth and Mid Bedfordshire did not necessarily change the plight faced by the Conservatives. What they did was shine so bright a beam on the situation that even the most self-deluding Tory MP can no longer pretend.
It was just three months ago that a narrow victory in Boris Johnson’s old Uxbridge seat gave the Tories a sudden sugar rush of hope, with Rishi Sunak saying it meant the next general election was “not a done deal”.
