Prime Minister Boris Johnson is now more likely to leave Downing Street this year according to Betfred.
After today’s triple whammy – losing two constituencies in bombshell by-election defeats plus the resignation of Conservative Party chairman Oliver Dowden – Johnson has been cut into 6/4 from 2/1 to leave Number 10 in 2022.
We’ve also gone odds-on (1/2) that Johnson isn’t the Conservative Leader at the next general election – while it’s 6/4 that he is.
That’s the immediate effect from an horrendous night for the Tories… although Johnson himself, whilst recognising he needs to listen to the voters, has vowed to carry on.
The embattled PM is in Rwanda for a Commonwealth summit where he’s also embroiled in controversy with Prince Charles, the heir to the throne, who has been speaking out about the government’s immigration policy that involves shipping people to the African nation.
The result in Wakefield – which saw Labour gain from the Tories – was not seen a huge shock given the cost of living crisis and the Partygate row that enveloped parliament, but the result at Tiverton and Honiton in Devon has sent shockwaves through government.
The Liberal Democrats overcame a 24,000 Tory majority – the biggest swing in British by-election history.
One factor in Johnson’s favour is the lack of a natural successor, with no real standout in the betting to be the Next Permanent Conservative Leader.
Penny Mordaunt, the current trade minister, and former health secretary Jeremy Hunt are the two that head the market at 5/1 ahead of Foreign Secretary Liz Truss at 8/1 – while Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Tom Tugendhat, the MP for Tonbridge and Malling, are 9/1 shots and it’s 10/1 bar.
