Boris Johnson's future in peril as Conservative Party hit with double election losses

LONDON, United Kingdom- British Prime Minister Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson suffered a hammer blow to his authority on Friday, June 24, 2022, after his party lost two parliamentary by-elections in a single night, raising new questions about his leadership.

Labour's Simon R. Lightwood won the West Yorkshire seat of Wakefield, in northern England, with a majority of 4,925 on a swing of 12.7 percentage points from the Conservatives to Labour.

Moments later, Liberal Democrat Richard J. Foord won the Tiverton and Honiton by-election in Devon, western England, with a dramatic swing of almost 30 points. The Conservatives had held the seat with a majority of more than 24,000 votes, so the win was one of the biggest ever majorities to be overturned at a UK parliamentary by-election.

'Boris has got to go'

Speaking at Tiverton, Liberal Democrat leader Edward J. Davey urged the ruling Conservative Party to oust its leader, saying "Boris Johnson has got to go," PA Media reported.

"The only people who can show Boris Johnson the door are his own party," he said, adding: "If you continue to allow Boris Johnson to drift along with no plan for our country -- the Liberal Democrats will come after you, seat by seat."

Johnson said the UK government needs to "listen to the results" of the crushing by-election losses, which prompted the Conservative Party's own chairman Oliver Dowden to resign from his role.