Boris Johnson vows to ‘keep going’ after double by-election defeat

The Prime Minister said that the losses were “tough” but insisted he would “listen” to voters.

His party co-chairman Oliver Dowden has resigned over the results, saying that he and Tory supports are “distressed and disappointed” by recent events and “someone must take responsibility”.

Meanwhile, in Wakefield, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer told Conservatives if they "had any decency they would get out the way for the sake of the country."

Speaking while 4,000 miles away attending a Commonwealth conference in Rwanda, Mr Johnson said he would take responsibility, but stressed the cost-of-living crisis was the most important thing for voters, saying it is “true that in mid-term governments post-war lose by-elections”.

“It’s absolutely true we’ve had some tough by-election results, they’ve been, I think, a reflection of a lot of things, but we’ve got to recognise voters are going through a tough time at the moment,” he said at a conference centre in Kigali.

“I think as a Government I’ve got to listen to what people are saying – in particular to the difficulties people are facing over the cost of living, which I think for most people is the number one issue.

“We’re now facing pressures on the cost of living, we’re seeing spikes in fuel prices, energy costs, food costs – that’s hitting people.

“We’ve got to recognise there is more we’ve got to do and we certainly will, we will keep going addressing the concerns of people until we get through this patch.”

Labour leader Sir Keir was jubilant as he visited campaigners and new MP Simon Lightwood in Ossett this morning.

He told supporters: “What a judgment this is on the Tories and Boris Johnson – out of touch, out of ideas, and if they had any decency they would get out the way for the sake of the country.

“When we do form that next Labour government, and we’re going to do it, Wakefield will go down as the birthplace of that.”