By-election results could be the beginning of the end for Rishi Sunak
Sounding more like the boss of a failing NHS trust trying to lay the blame at his predecessors, Tory chairman Greg Hands said 'legacy issues' were responsible for his party's two catastrophic defeats.
Now one could be charitable, and say that Mr Hands is obviously a 'glass quarter full' kinda guy. Or one could be honest, and say the Tamworth and Mid Bedfordshire by-election results are so bad for the Conservatives that even the most true-blue party activist will struggle to find a straw to clutch on to.
Granted, the margins of both Labour victories were small, and Mr Hands is right to say that by-election results are not a good indicator of the national picture. Indeed, it would still be reasonable to expect the Conservatives to retake these seats come the General Election next year.
But what no amount of spin can explain away the magnitude of the swing away from the governing party.
Sarah Edwards' win in Tamworth was a watershed moment for Labour, the second highest by-election swing to the party of all time. But the loss of Mid Bedfordshire, a Conservative stronghold for 92 years, is arguably even more dramatic. Nadine Dorries' 24,466 majority is the Tories' largest to be overturned at a by-election since 1945.
