Constituency lost: Johnson’s chair is sawed heavily

Christmas parties in lockdown, a setback in the vote on new corona measures and now an important constituency that has been lost. It is no longer just the opposition who want to get rid of the British prime minister.

This constituency in the west of England on the border with Wales is extremely conservative. There are many farms here. For decades, the Tories have been getting their majorities here by a large margin over their competitors. And many here have spoken out in favor of Brexit. Actually Boris Johnson Land.

It is precisely for this reason that it is a small sensation that the Europe-friendly Liberal Democrats have now won the seat in the lower house in the by-election – with a clear lead: 6,000 votes. The winner, Helen Morgan, also knows how that came about. “Boris Johnson, the party’s over,” she said.

An allusion to reports that a year ago – in the middle of a tough lockdown – there was a Christmas party in the prime minister’s office. A government adviser had to leave because of that.

Another hit – then it could be gone

The prime minister stressed that the rules had not been broken. But reports of further Christmas celebrations by the government are added almost every day. Surveys also show: Many are annoyed by Boris Johnson.

“That was a referendum on the prime minister’s performance,” said Conservative MP Roger Gale in an interview with the BBC4 radio station, adding that he was now in trouble. Johnson had already taken two hits, one more, and then he was gone, said the MP, who underscored his clear analysis with another military picture: The Conservative Party is known for not taking prisoners. That means: if the prime minister does not perform, he will be kicked out.

Almost 100 conservatives against the prime minister

At the beginning of the week, Johnson suffered the defeat that almost 100 Conservative MPs in the lower house voted against government proposals to tighten corona measures. Now also North Shropshire. But not only within his own party is sawing his chair, the opposition parties are also putting pressure on them.

Labor needs more victories like North Shropshire

But whether Labor alone can drive the Conservative government out of office is questionable. The Liberal Democrats see themselves in the role of being able to take some seats from the Tories in the upcoming elections.

Liberal Democrat Chairman Ed Davey said: “The Liberal Democrats will be especially important in driving Johnson and the Conservatives out of government. There is no way to get rid of Johnson beyond victories like this in North Shropshire . ”

By-election due to lobbying affair

The by-election was scheduled because the Conservative MP Owen Paterson there had to resign after a good 24 years in parliament because of a lobbying affair. Johnson had initially tried to stop disciplinary proceedings against the MP, but then had to back down in view of the outrage in his own ranks.