Other Conservative seats that have been lost in recent by-elections may have had bigger majorities, but they will have been on the receiving end of much less Whitehall benefaction.
The suspended MP has announced he has tendered his resignation after “the honour of a lifetime” in representing Blackpool South.
The former has once again been returned to Parliament at the head of a minor party. Yet it was the latter who, despite never entering the Commons, wrought the real, transformative change.
Labour held the seat from 1997 to 2019.
As Conservative group leader on South Gloucestershire council, our candidate knows the local issues that matter to residents, chiefly the prospect of 6,000 new homes being built on the Green Belt.
It would be wrong to assume such people are apathetic. They are mad as hornets. They are largely still Conservative. But to their dismay, they have concluded that the Conservative Party no longer is – thus ceasing to merit their support.
Skidmore was already planning to stand down at the next election, but said his decision to resign now was ahead of a vote on Monday on the issuing of new oil and gas licences.
As his options narrow, Sunak has little choice but to get back to first principles, which would be the right course anyway.
Even taking by-election turnouts into account, these results are terrible for Rishi Sunak, and suggest that Sir Keir is on course to win the next general election
Such was the state of the polls going into this race that even a narrow win would have seemed like a setback for Sir Keir Starmer and Anas Sarwar, the Scottish Labour leader. No fear of that now, and no comfort for Humza Yousaf.
Glory marches elsewhere alongside great successes, but true honour lies in the thankless fights.
Rotherham Council spends tens of millions into grandiose white elephant projects while allowing residents to fall behind.
At any rate, the voters of Mid-Bedforshire would tell us something interesting to know. That either a significant percentage of them want rid of Nadine Dorries… or not.
The fact remains that the broad thrust of climate policy enjoys strong support from voters. YouGov polling shows that ULEZ is a rare example of an unpopular environmental measure.
If you want people to feel motivated to go out and vote Conservative, delivering some Conservative policies would be a good start.