If you’re just waking up, the Tories have lost both by-elections by significant margins and large swings – huge in the case of Tiverton – and the Tory chairman Oliver Dowden has just quit. His resignation letter spells out he believes the party “cannot carry on with business as usual,” though appears to take full blame. He concludes:

“I want to emphasise that this is a deeply personal decision that I have taken alone. I will, as always, remain loyal to the Conservative Party.”

Guido’s old enough to remember back to 2019, when a triple by-line op-ed from Rishi, Dowden and Robert Jenrick was seen as pivotal in building support for Boris among younger MPs. Now only one remains…

Dowden’s resignation letter in full: