British Prime Minister Boris Johnson looked set for a chastening defeat in a parliamentary by-election on Friday as the centrist Liberal Democrats claimed a "historic victory" in what had been a safe Conservative seat of Tiverton and Honiton.
"This is looking like a clear win. The people of Tiverton and Honiton have spoken up for the country," a Liberal Democrat spokesman said. The official result has not yet been declared.
"This is an historic victory for the Liberal Democrats and a devastating blow for those Conservative MPs who continue to prop up Boris Johnson."
(Reporting by Alistair Smout; Editing by Tom Hogue)
