Boris Johnson told to quit by former Tory leader following by-election defeats

Mr Howard told Cabinet Ministers to “very carefully consider their positions” as he said that the Tories and the country “would now be better off under new leadership”.

It comes after party chairman Oliver Dowden quit this morning following the two by-election defeats in Wakefield and Tiverton and Honiton.

Conservative peer Lord Howard told BBC Radio 4’s the World At One programme: “The party and even more importantly the country would now be better off under new leadership.

“Members of the Cabinet should very carefully consider their positions.”

He said he “very reluctantly” came to the conclusion after Thursday’s elections show he no longer has the ability to win elections.

Lord Howard, who led the Tories between 2003 and 2005, has not been an outspoken critic of Mr Johnson’s in the past, but did sack him as a shadow minister for lying about an affair.

The Prime Minister has said he will “keep going” following the losses but has to “listen” to what the public have said.

Speaking from Kigali, Rwanda, where he is attending a Commonwealth meeting, Mr Johnson told broadcasters this morning: “It’s absolutely true we’ve had some tough by-election results. They’ve been, I think, a reflection of a lot of things, but we’ve got to recognise voters are going through a tough time at the moment,” he said at the conference centre in Kigali.

“I think, as a Government, I’ve got to listen to what people are saying – in particular to the difficulties people are facing over the cost of living, which, I think, for most people is the number one issue.

“We’ve got to recognise there is more we’ve got to do and we certainly will – we will keep going, addressing the concerns of people until we get through this patch.”