The scale of byelection defeats in Tiverton and Honiton in south-west England and Wakefield in the north of England might have Conservative rebels wishing they had waited a few weeks to hold a no-confidence vote in Boris Johnson. For the 148 MPs who voted against him, these results might have swayed just enough of their colleagues to join them in toppling the prime minister.
Even Johnson loyalists might feel nervous for the future following these results. Only 72 constituencies in the UK were supposedly safer for the Tories than Tiverton and Honiton, where the Conservatives held a 24,000 majority and won 60% of the vote in the election of 2019. Yet the Liberal Democrats romped home on a monster swing of 30%, replacing Conservative MP Neil Parish, who resigned after admitting to watching porn in the House of Commons.
