Call for party to deliver on manifesto pledges after it loses two by-elections
Tory right-wingers urged Rishi Sunak to scrap net zero schemes and “return to Conservative policies” after the party lost two by-elections on huge swings.
The Prime Minister faced a backlash against his leadership, with Boris Johnson loyalist Nadine Dorries warning that “angry Tories won’t turn out for Sunak”, and adding threateningly that voters “know how to administer their own justice”.
Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg urged fellow Tories not to panic – but did warn that the lesson from Uxbridge was that “high-cost green policies are not popular”.
The Conservatives managed to hold on against a Labour onslaught in Uxbridge and South Ruislip, where one of the key issues was London mayor Sadiq Khan’s insistence on extending the Ultra Low Emission Zone (Ulez) across the whole of the city.