Oliver Dowden

'We cannot carry on with business as usual', senior MP says in pointed letter to Boris Johnson.

He added: “Voters are reacting to the character of the prime minister. Senior Tory MP Simon Hoare – who voted against Mr Johnson at the recent confidence vote – said Mr Dowden was “not to blame” for the losses. They are rejecting the character of the prime minister. “Finally someone in the cabinet says ‘Enough is enough’,” he tweeted on Mr Dowden’s exit. “Yesterday’s parliamentary by-elections are the latest in a run of very poor result for our party,” Mr Dowden wrote. “While I completely understand your disappointment with the by-election results, this government was elected with a historic mandate just over two years ago to unite and level up.”

The contests in Wakefield and Tiverton and Honiton were triggered by the resignation of disgraced Tories. The by-elections offered voters the chance to give ...

Britain deserves better." He said: “The people of Tiverton and Honiton have spoken for Britain. They sent a loud and clear message – it’s time for Boris Johnson to go, and go now.” I don’t think it ever had. Ahead of the vote, he tweeted: “I will be voting for Boris Johnson in the confidence vote tonight. "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. In his resignation letter to the PM, Mr Dowden said: "Yesterday’s Parliamentary by-elections are the latest in a run of very poor result for our party."

Tory MP says someone 'must take responsibility' for defeats, amid growing pressure on Boris Johnson.

Labour took Wakefield and the Liberal Democrats overturned a 24,000-plus majority to snatch Tiverton and Honiton. He had formerly been culture secretary under Johnson. He was co-chair alongside Ben Elliot, who focuses primarily on fundraising. Oliver Dowden has resigned as Conservative chair after the party’s disastrous double byelection losses in Wakefield and in Tiverton and Honiton, saying someone “must take responsibility” for a recent run of poor results.

Mr Dowden said in his letter to the prime minister that the by-elections “are the latest in a run of very poor results for our party”. | ITV National News.

Somebody must take responsibility and I have concluded that, in these circumstances, it would not be right for me to remain in office.” He had formerly been culture secretary under Mr Johnson. “We cannot carry on with business as usual.

He resigned barely an hour after the Tories lost the Wakefield by-election to Labour and Tiverton and Honiton to the Lib Dems. Dowden said they were “the latest ...

The by-election in Wakefield was called after the sitting Tory MP, Imran Ahmad Khan, quit after being convicted of sexually assaulting a teenage boy. He resigned barely an hour after the Tories lost the Wakefield by-election to Labour and Tiverton and Honiton to the Lib Dems. Oliver Dowden has quit as Conservative chairman in the wake of the party’s double by-election defeat.

Oliver Dowden has quit his position as co-chairman of the Conservative Party in protest at the Prime Minister's leadership.

Saying that 12.69 per cent was a “significant” swing towards Labour, Sir Keir added: “That tells you that the next government is going to be a Labour government. “Whilst I completely understand your disappointment with the by-election results, this Government was elected with a historic mandate just over two years ago to unite and level up. He studied law at Cambridge before joining the Conservative Research Department in 2004. Sharing a copy of Mr Dowden’s letter of resignation to the Prime Minister, he tweeted simply: “Honourable.” “As Minister for the Cabinet Office, Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and Co-Chairman of the Conservative Party, it has been a pleasure to work alongside you for the last three years. Mr Dowden, who was due to appear on the morning media round for the Government on Friday, said in his letter to the PM the by-elections “are the latest in a run of very poor results for our party”.

"Somebody must take responsibility," Mr Dowden said in a letter to the PM after the Tories were defeated by the Liberal Democrats in Tiverton and Honiton, ...

Analysis: Oliver Dowden has jumped, perhaps before he was pushed - but will others follow? And after the defeats, he stuck to his guns, saying it was normal for governments to be "punished at the polls" in the middle of their term. He added that it was a "deeply personal decision" and that he would "as always, remain loyal to the Conservative Party". In a letter to Mr Dowden, the PM said he understood the MP's "disappointment" at the by-election defeats, but said the government had a "historic mandate" to govern. Mr Dowden said in a letter to Boris Johnson that the defeats were "the latest in a run of very poor results" and added: "We cannot carry on with business as usual." "Somebody must take responsibility," Mr Dowden said in a letter to the PM after the Tories were defeated by the Liberal Democrats in Tiverton and Honiton, and by Labour in Wakefield.