Top Tories put Johnson on notice after party’s drubbing in by-election

Senior Tories have told Boris Johnson his leadership is on the line after the party’s crushing defeat in the North Shropshire by-election.

The prime minister suffered another body blow to his authority as the Liberal Democrats overturned a massive Conservative majority to take the seat by almost 6,000 votes.

The result sent shock waves through Westminster after weeks of damaging headlines about Tory “sleaze” and reports of partying in No 10 in breach of Covid restrictions last year.

Mr Johnson said he took “personal responsibility” for what he described as a “very disappointing” result” for the party.

However, he sidestepped questions about whether he would resign if it was in the interests of the country or his party, insisting he was focused on fighting the pandemic.

“That is what the government is engaged in doing now. That is what I am focused on. I think that is what people would want me to be focused on right now,” he said during a visit to a vaccination centre in Hillingdon.

With the unexpectedly heavy defeat prompting renewed talk of a possible leadership challenge, senior Conservatives appealed for “calm” while warning that Mr Johnson had only a limited time to turn things around.

Sir Charles Walker, the vice chairman of the 1922 Committee of Tory backbenchers, said a leadership contest would be “completely selfindulgent” but added Mr Johnson had 12 months at most to make a difference.

“The prime minister has got weeks, months, a year to sort himself out,” he told Times Radio.

“If we go on making unforced errors over the next three to six months or nine months, it will become a lot more serious. It’s serious now but it’s not at a critical level yet.”

Sir Geoffrey CliftonBrown, the treasurer of the 1922 Committee said it was not the time for a “big blame game” but that Mr Johnson needed to stop the “self-inflicted own goals”.

“I want him to succeed, I am giving him the benefit of the doubt,” he told Sky News.

“But in doing that, as one of his seasoned backbenchers, I am asking him to think carefully how he governs the country and avoid these self-inflicted measures.”

SHOCK: New Liberal Democrat MP Helen Morgan, bursts “Boris’s bubble” held by colleague Tim Farron, as she celebrates her by-election win.

Boris Johnson has been told to cut out the “own goals”.