Tories lose both seats in key by-election battles – follow live

Oliver Dowden has resigned as chairman of the Conservative Party after it suffered two by-election defeats, saying in a letter to prime minister Boris Johnson that “someone must take responsibility”.

Mr Dowden said in his letter to the PM the by-elections “are the latest in a run of very poor results for our party”.

“Our supporters are distressed and disappointed by recent events, and I share their feelings.

“We cannot carry on with business as usual. Somebody must take responsibility and I have concluded that, in these circumstances, it would not be right for me to remain in office.”

The MP ended his letter by saying: “I want to emphasise that this is a deeply personal decision that I have taken alone.

“I will, as always, remain loyal to the Conservative Party.”

Former No 10 adviser Tim Montgomerie, creator of the Conservative Home website, said the result in Tiverton was “massive”, adding: “This is a crisis for the Conservative party.”

He told Sky News: “Voters are reacting to the character of the prime minister. They are rejecting the character of the prime minister. And if the Conservative doesn’t act soon… the whole Conservative party will be judged. We cannot let this situation continue.”

Tory party chairman Oliver Dowden has submitted his letter of resignation after the Conservative’s double by-election loss.

New Wakefield MP Simon Lightwood declared that “the next Labour government has been born in this room tonight”.

In his speech after being announced the winner of the West Yorkshire by-election, he said: “Tonight, the people of Wakefield have spoken on behalf of the British people. They have said unreservedly: ‘Boris Johnson, your contempt for this country is no longer tolerated’.

“It’s not acceptable that a quarter of our children in Wakefield live in poverty, it’s not acceptable that hundreds of people leave A&E every month without being treated because of record NHS waiting times, and it’s not acceptable that convictions for crimes like robbery have fallen by almost half in the past five years.

“People in Wakefield and across the country are sick of the deceit and dishonesty of this government.”

The Liberal Democrats swept to victory in Devon, as Richard Foord overcame a Tory majority of 24,239 votes – the largest ever overturned at a by-election.

Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey said it was the “biggest by-election victory our country has ever seen”, adding that the result should be a “wake-up call” to Tory MPs about Mr Johnson’s leadership.

Labour’s Simon Robert Lightwood won in Wakefield after winning the west Yorkshire seat by almost 5,000 votes, overturning a smaller Conservative lead of 3,358 votes.

Read the details in this joint report by Holly Bancroft and Adam Forrest :

Simon Lightwood, the newly elected MP from Wakefield, told reporters Labour was “rebuilding the red wall” and that the biggest issue on the doorstep throughout the campaign had been the cost of living crisis.

Asked what the victory would mean for Sir Keir Starmer’s leadership, he said: “I think it speaks volumes. We are rebuilding the red wall and this is the birthplace of the next Labour government.”

Mr Lightwood added: “We’re rebuilding the trust of the electorate and people are ready for a fresh start. They’re sick of all the lies and deceit of Boris Johnson and we offer that alternative vision.”

Asked whether the success would translate into other red wall seats across the north, he said: “I think we can be certain of that.”

Richard Foord, Liberal Democrat winner from Tiverton and Honiton, told The Independent that the party was not expecting a win of this scale.

“This result is absolutely staggering,” he said. “ We weren’t expecting a win, let alone a win of this scale.

“We had noticed that momentum has been shifting from the Conservatives to the Liberal Democrats over the course of this campaign and particularly over recent days because of the very positive agenda that we were setting out but this is absolutely seismic, we’ve overturned the biggest majority in by election history.

“There is a very clear trend in the Blue Wall constituencies that people are looking at the positive Liberal democrat proposals and voting for the Lib Dems.

“I certainly think that some life long Conservatives couldn’t bear the idea of voting for the Conservative party while it’s lead by Boris Johnson and so in terms of retaining their support, regardless of what happens in the Conservative party internal politics, I will work really very hard to represent every single constituent.”

Naomi Smith, chief executive of the Best for Britain, campaigning for the anti-Conservative electoral pact, said the majorities at both by-elections “could not have been overturned without tactical voting and an unofficial electoral pact between the opposition parties”.

Urging Keir Starmer and Ed Davey to collaborate, she added: “Labour and the Lib Dems mustn’t rest on their laurels, repeating this success will be much more difficult in a general election. Our polling proves they will need to collaborate to defeat the government.”

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey slammed the Conservatives after his party secured a sweeping win in Tiverton and Honiton.

“The Liberal Democrats have made political history with this stunning win. It is the biggest by-election victory our country has ever seen,” he said.

“This should be a wake-up call for all those Conservative MPs propping up Boris Johnson. They cannot afford to ignore this result.

“The people of Tiverton and Honiton have spoken for the country.

“The public is sick of Boris Johnson’s lies and law-breaking and it’s time for Conservative MPs to finally do the right thing and sack him.”

Here’s a breakdown of what the results from the Wakefield and Tiverton & Honiton by-elections mean for Boris Johnson: