Blame ‘long Boris’ for by-election woes, says senior Tory MP

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Long Boris is to blame for expected Tory woes in this week’s by-election, a backbench MP has claimed.

The Tories are currently on track to lose all three contests taking place on Thursday in Selby and Ainsty, Somerton and Frome and Boris Johnson, former seat of Uxbridge and South Ruislip.

Asked by BBC Radio 4s Westminster Hour if he expected his party to lose at Uxbridge, Steve Brine, the chairman of the health and social care select committee, replied: Yeah – that’s another bit of what I call long Boris, don’t you?

Mr Brine backtracked on his prediction, citing dissatisfaction with Sadiq Khan’s ultra-low emissions zone policy and saying I had no idea how voters would vote.

It came as Steve Tuckwell, the Conservative candidate for Uxbridge and South Ruislip, admitted in an overnight interview that it will be very difficult to hold on to the seat.

It’s not an illusion that it’s going to be very difficult, it’s going to be tough and it’s going to be a challenge, but I’m incredibly motivated to win every vote, Mr Tuckwell told PA.

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