Tory MPs warn a double by-election defeat this week will pile further pressure on Boris Johnson’s leadership as the embattled prime minister tries to move on from the Partygate scandal.
Rebels say Mr Johnson, whose faced criticism when his ethics adviser resigned on Wednesday, would suffer a “loss of authority” if the Conservatives were to lose Tiverton and Honiton, which would require one of the largest ever overturned majorities in a by-election.
