“Someone must take responsibility,” Mr. Dowden wrote to the Prime Minister after the Conservatives were defeated in Tiverton and Honiton by the Liberal Democrats, and in Wakefield by Labour.
Oliver Dowden, chairman of the Conservative Party, resigned after the party was defeated in two by-elections.
In a letter to Boris Johnson, Mr. Dowden said the defeats were “the latest in a run of very poor results,” adding, “We cannot carry on with business as usual.
He is the first Cabinet minister to resign in the aftermath of the prime minister’s pressure over the partygate scandal, which has already prompted 148 Tory MPs to vote against the PM in a vote of no confidence.
In a letter to Mr. Dowden, the Prime Minister expressed sympathy for the MP’s “disappointment” over the by-election losses but stated that the government had a “historic mandate” to govern.
The Conservatives lost a majority of 24,000 votes, or more than 40 percent, in Honiton and Tiverton to the Liberal Democrats, a record reversal for the party.
They also lost Wakefield, the “red wall” seat taken by the Conservatives in 2019, and returned to Labour.
Mr. Dowden, who was scheduled to appear on the morning broadcast round of interviews, said: “Recent events have upset and disappointed our supporters, and I share their disappointment.
“We cannot conduct business as usual.
“Someone must take responsibility, and I have concluded that it would not be appropriate for me to continue in office under these circumstances.”
He went on to say that the decision was “deeply personal” and that he would “always remain loyal to the Conservative Party.”
According to a source close to the prime minister, he took a brief phone call from Mr. Dowden shortly after announcing his decision.
According to sources close to the PM, he was taken aback by the news, especially since the former chairman had been preparing PMQs with him on Wednesday and had warned them that they were likely to lose both by-elections.
Mr. Johnson’s party suffered another electoral thrashing after losing nearly 500 council seats in local elections earlier this month.
They also experienced shock results last year when the Liberal Democrats overturned large Conservative majorities in North Shropshire, Chesham, and Amersham.
The fallout from the recent elections comes as the Prime Minister is thousands of miles away in Rwanda, where he is attending the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting.
He said before the election that resigning if the Conservatives lost the two seats would be “crazy.”
After the defeats, he maintained his position, saying it was normal for governments to be “punished at the polls” in the middle of their terms.
“I think people are tired of the lies and deceit we’ve seen from the prime minister and they’re demanding change,” said Simon Lightwood, who won the Wakefield by-election for Labour.
Richard Foord, the Lib Dem candidate for Tiverton and Honiton, used his acceptance speech to call for Mr. Johnson to “go, and go now,” claiming his victory had “sent a shockwave through British politics.
Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer stated: “Wakefield has demonstrated that the country has lost faith in the Conservatives.
“This result is a clear verdict on a Conservative Party depleted of energy and ideas.”
Sir Ed Davey, leader of the Liberal Democrats, stated: “This should serve as a wake-up call to all Conservative MPs who have supported Boris Johnson. They cannot afford to ignore the outcome.
“The public is tired of Boris Johnson’s lies and breaking the law, and it’s past time for Conservative MPs to do the right thing and fire him.”
On the sixth anniversary of the Brexit referendum, two by-elections were held in leave-voting constituencies.
They were triggered by the resignations of Conservative MPs: Neil Parish in Tiverton and Honiton resigned after admitting to watching pornography on his mobile phone in the Commons chamber, and Imran Ahmad Khan in Wakefield resigned after being found guilty of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy.
It was clear soon after the polls closed that the Conservatives were in for a bad night.
The party’s deputy chair, Luke Hall, told that it had been a “challenging campaign,” citing the impact of the confidence vote.
“I certainly accept that political party disunity means that parties do not win elections,” he said.
