By-election defeats means Tories now face dilemma on Johnson and its future - The Yorkshire Post says

It is no exaggeration to say that the Conservative Party now faces its greatest crisis since coming to power in 2010.

The by-election defeats in Wakefield and Tiverton and Honiton, the latter of which saw a 30 per cent swing to the Liberal Democrats, represent existential hammer blows to the already massively weakened authority of Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

The loss of the two seats has seen the co-chair of the party Oliver Dowden, previously an ardent supporter of the Prime Minister, tender his resignation. Former Conservative leader Michael Howard has joined increasing calls for Mr Johnson to step down to make way for fresh leadership.

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Equally telling was the remarks of Chancellor and Richmond MP Rishi Sunak who, in his response to Mr Dowden’s resignation, made no reference to the Prime Minister.

Prime Minister under pressure.Prime Minister under pressure.
Prime Minister under pressure.

Meanwhile Mr Johnson is four thousand miles away in Rwanda at the Commonwealth summit.

Any hopes that Mr Johnson has that his absence will give him respite from his travails at home are ill-founded. The by-election defeats represent more warning lights on the dashboard of his leadership. His hard-headed insistence that he and the cabinet are “getting on with the job” fails to recognise that it is precisely this process that has led to support for his Government to implode.

The Conservative Party now faces a challenge; is it to become the party associated with the cult of personality around its populist leader, or will it stay true to the ideals and morals upon which it was founded?

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Much rides on this decision. The country faces multiple seismic challenges. It needs powerful leadership to tackle them and a Prime Minister with such weakened authority is not what is required at present.

It must act to do what is right for both the party and the nation.