Pressure on Boris Johnson after Tories' poll defeat

Boris Johnson's Conservatives on Friday lost control of a parliamentary seat they have dominated for nearly 200 years, ratcheting up the pressure on Johnson from his lawmakers, who are in mutinous mood after a series of crises and scandals.

The defeat was described as 'a kicking' for the Conservatives, substantiating fears expressed publicly and privately that the party's reputation and electoral prospects are now suffering under Johnson's leadership.

The centrist Liberal Democrats party candidate, Helen Morgan, won the North Shropshire seat by nearly 6,000 votes, overturning a 23,000-vote Conservative majority from 2019. "Our country is crying out for leadership. Mr Johnson, you're no leader," Morgan said in her victory speech.

"Clearly the vote in North Shropshire is a very disappointing result and I totally understand people's frustrations. I hear what the voters are saying in North Shropshire and in all humility I have got to accept that verdict," Johnson told reporters.