‘I didn’t see that coming’ It’s an amazing result from North Shropshire – I didn’t see that coming. Please, please don’t remove Johnson, though. He will only be replaced by someone equally as dangerous but more smooth-talking and less prone to stupid mistakes, like Rishi Sunak. The Tories will then make out like all of the scandals were just to do with Johnson, rather than a far wider party-wide issue, they’ll rebrand themselves and win the next election. Leave Johnson in power for as long as possible; the longer he stays, the more likely the Tories will be to lose the next election. MTBO85 ‘Boris is a goner’ The problem with Tories, as with certain sections of the Labour left, is that they think if they’re performing poorly, while they correctly conclude it’s because they’re not giving people what they want, they then go on to assume that what the public want is a more extreme version of what they’re currently offering. Boris is a goner and rightly so, but I fear the Tories are going back rightwards as a result, rather than to the centre. I’m actually quite hopeful they’ll lose the next election but they’ll do a lot of damage first. QuesoManchego ‘It seems odd that a pro-Brexit constituency voted Lib Dem’ It seems odd that a pro-Brexit constituency voted for the Lib Dems, who were the most pro-EU party. It does show the contrary view of our electorate. However, in the Brexit campaign people were told that when we left the EU we would have all the advantages of membership (access to the single market and less red tape) with none of the disadvantages (cost, accepting EU rules, restriction of immigration, trade deals with other countries). While it does not take much analysis to realise that was not going to happen and a compromise was required, the hard Brexit negotiated by the Tories is impacting us badly and hitting the agricultural sector badly. Hence dissatisfaction in rural areas. KSCWEL ‘The voters seem to have seen through this administration’ It’s wonderful news. At last, the voters seem to have seen through this Tory/Ukip administration that has been responsible for the UK losing international respect. Johnson no longer looks invulnerable. It raises the possibility that we could even get rid of Raab here in Esher. Harry Wiles, 77, retired diplomat, Esher, Surrey ‘People are reading too much into this result’ People are reading too much into this result. Byelection voting is a bit like flashing your lights at another car: you are trying to send a signal using a very blunt instrument. North Shrophire is true blue Tory Brexit country. The Lib Dems and the wider progressive movement are trying to spin this as an indication of people turning more towards the centre, but the people of North Shropshire have not swung to the left. It is obvious that a leadership challenge will come from the hard right. These people are looking for tax cuts and public spending cuts, right reason or none. Either Boris will need to go even more blatantly populist or he faces being replaced by someone who is. Superstriker ‘A real kick up the arse’ First, it’s good that the Tories lost the seat, instead of just being run close. That means it’s a real kick up the arse and can’t be ignored. It also means there have been material consequences to the party for the disgraceful way they tried to bury the Paterson sleaze. Conservatives should hope that this is not about policy. Because if the government’s chosen implementation of Brexit is not the policy that even places like this want, then who is that policy aimed at? Johnson’s Brexit has always been inferior to May’s Brexit in my opinion – and judging by recent polling, it’s beginning to lose its shine with the people that supported removing May and installing Johnson, too. Johnson has nothing except his facade, and aspects of the Covid response have really exposed that. FFC800 ‘I cannot get excited by this result’ I cannot get excited about this result. Johnson is only going to be replaced by another individual I don’t want anywhere near power. I find it depressing that apparently none of the previous appalling things Johnson and the Tories did have been of equal concern to their voting demographic. He’s implemented so many things that caused damage to this country, and to democracy (or in some instances, achieved this by not implementing things he should have). It’s sickening he can mismanage a pandemic, slash support for the vulnerable, cause untold damage with his hard Brexit, and yet it’s a pizza party that finally “the people” object to. GreenAppleRedApple ‘Culture wars is a declining market’ Culture wars is a declining market, less takers on both sides of the divide. So much of it was driven by a US media ecosystem that went into overdrive under Trump. The Tories have really bet the ranch on it, but their voters have had broadly favourable economic conditions. The pandemic and Brexit are still playing out. No guarantees it will continue to wash, and that will favour the alternatives. Illegal migration will always be a hit with some voters, but it favours rabble-rousers like Farage. It’s much more difficult when you’re actually in power and have made endless promises about it. All that really gives the Tories favourable conditions in the next election is how much they can game the system like their peers in Poland and Hungary. LesterBoggs