Boris Johnson has said he takes “personal responsibility” for Conservative defeat in the North Shropshire by-election, but refused to say if he would step down if it was in the interests of the party and the country.
Interviewed on the morning after the historic rout, the prime minister repeatedly tried to suggest that voter “frustration” with the government was down to the media’s focus on stories of sleaze and lockdown-breaching Downing Street parties.
He said that a “constant litany of stuff about politics and politicians” in the headlines had drowned out the government’s messages on issues like Covid, healthcare and jobs.
And he accepted that this included his own attempt to change parliament’s sleaze rules, which triggered Thursday’s by-election after disgraced MP Owen Paterson resigned rather than accept a suspension from the Commons.
“I am responsible for everything that the government does and of course I take a personal responsibility,” he said.
Recommended PM downplays claims of split with experts in face of ‘considerable’ Omicron wave Voters hit out at ‘lazy’ Johnson as Tories lose North Shropshire heartland Nicola Sturgeon asks UK for money so she can cancel events in Scotland
Mr Johnson said he recognised that he needed to “fix” the way his government operates, but insisted that his top priority was dealing with the coronavirus pandemic.
Challenged over scandals ranging from aides laughing over a lockdown-breaking party to his attempt to get a donor to pay for the lavish refurbishment of his flat, the PM replied: “You raise the running of of government that I'm going to have to fix, of course.
“But the real issue that I think people want to focus on is what we're doing to sort out the NHS, the investment that we're putting in to get us through a very tough time and what we're doing to tackle the pandemic. And that is the number one priority for the government.”
Mr Johnson said it was was his job to try to persuade the media to move their focus away from stories about parties in Downing Street and onto issues that affected voters’ lives.
But asked whether he would resign as PM if became clear that he was an electoral liability for his party and that his removal would be good for the country, he dodged the question.
UK news in pictures Show all 50
1/50UK news in pictures
UK news in pictures 16 December 2021 Brussels sprouts are harvested by workers as they prepare for the busy Christmas period near Boston in Lincolnshire
PA
UK news in pictures 15 December 2021 Lewis Hamilton is made a Knight Bachelor by the Prince of Wales at Windsor Castle
PA
UK news in pictures 14 December 2021 The Royal Liver Buildings surrounded by early morning fog in Liverpool
PA
UK news in pictures 13 December 2021 People queue outside a walk-in Covid-19 vaccination centre at St Thomas's Hospital in Westminster
Getty Images
UK news in pictures 12 December 2021 People take part in the Big Leeds Santa Dash in Roundhay Park, Leeds
PA
UK news in pictures 11 December 2021 People arrive at a Covid-19 vaccination centre at Elland Road in Leeds,
PA
UK news in pictures 10 December 2021 Stella Moris speaks to the media after the US Government won its High Court bid to overturn a judge’s decision not to extradite WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange
PA
UK news in pictures 9 December 2021 Camels are lead around Salisbury Cathedral during a rehearsal for the Christmas Eve Service
PA
UK news in pictures 8 December 2021 Margaret Keenan and Nurse May Parsons, a year after Margaret was the first person in the UK to receive the Pfizer vaccine
PA
UK news in pictures 7 December 2021 Snowfall in Leadhills, South Lanarkshire as Storm Barra hits the UK with disruptive winds, heavy rain and snow
PA
UK news in pictures 6 December 2021 A person tries to avoid sea spray on New Brighton promenade in Wallasey as the UK readies for the arrival of Storm Barra
Getty
UK news in pictures 5 December 2021 People release balloons during a tribute to six-year-old Arthur Labinjo-Hughes outside Emma Tustin's former address in Solihull, West Midlands, where he was murdered by his stepmother
PA
UK news in pictures 4 December 2021 People walk through a Christmas market in Trafalgar Square
Reuters
UK news in pictures 3 December 2021 A pedestrian carries a dog as they dodge shoppers on Oxford Street in central London
AFP/Getty
UK news in pictures 2 December 2021 Duchess of Cambridge inspects a Faberge egg at the Victoria and Albert Museum
Getty
UK news in pictures 1 December 2021 Meerkats at London Zoo with an advent calendar
PA
UK news in pictures 30 November 2021 Workers put the finishing touches to the Trafalgar Square Christmas Tree ahead of the lighting ceremony later in the week
PA
UK news in pictures 29 November 2021 Home Secretary Priti Patel is greeted by a police dog at a special memorial service for Met Police Sergeant Matiu Ratana
Getty
UK news in pictures 28 November 2021 Riyad Mahrez of Manchester City battles for possession with Aaron Cresswell of West Ham United during a match at the Etihad during snow
Manchester City/Getty
UK news in pictures 27 November 2021 Residents clear branches from a fallen tree in Birkenhead, north west England as “Storm Arwen” triggered a rare “red weather” warning
AFP via Getty Images
UK news in pictures 3 December 2021 An aerial picture shows a worker using a quad bike and trailer to transport freshly harvested trees at Pimms Christmas Tree farm in Matfield, southeast England
AFP via Getty
UK news in pictures 26 November 2021 A shopper browses Christmas trees for sale at Pines and Needles in Dulwich, London
Reuters
UK news in pictures 25 November 2021 A murmuration of hundreds of thousands of starlings fly over a field at dusk in Cumbria, close to the Scottish border
PA
UK news in pictures 3 December 2021 A pedestrian carries a dog as they dodge shoppers on Oxford Street in central London
AFP/Getty
UK news in pictures 24 November 2021 Migrants are helped ashore from a RNLI (Royal National Lifeboat Institution) lifeboat at a beach in Dungeness, on the south-east coast of England, on November 24, 2021, after being rescued while crossing the English Channel.
AFP via Getty Images
UK news in pictures 23 November 2021 The coffin of Sir David Amess is carried past politicians, including former Prime Ministers Sir John Major, David Cameron and Theresa May, Speaker of the House of Commons Sir Lindsay Hoyle, Home Secretary Priti Patel and Prime Minister Boris Johnson during the requiem mass for the MP at Westminster Cathedral, central London
PA
UK news in pictures 22 November 2021 The scene in Dragon Rise, Norton Fitzwarren, Somerset where police have launched a murder probe after two people were found dead
Tom Wren/SWNS
UK news in pictures 21 November 2021 London-based midwife Sarah Muggleton, 27, takes part in a 'March with Midwives' in central London to highlight the crisis in maternity services
PA
UK news in pictures 20 November 2021 Police officers monitor as climate change activists sit down and block traffic during a protest action in solidarity with activists from the Insulate Britain group who received prison terms for blocking roads, on Lambeth Bridge in central London
AFP via Getty Images
UK news in pictures 19 November 2021 A giant installation of Prime Minister Boris Johnson made from recycled clothing goes on display at Manchester Central, as part of Manchester Art Fair, in a 'wake-up call for the Prime Minister to tackle textile waste'
PA
UK news in pictures 18 November 2021 The scene at a recycling centre in Stert, near Devizes in Wiltshire after a large blaze was brought under control. The fire broke out on Wednesday night the fire service has said and local residents were advised to keep windows and doors shut due to large amounts of smoke
PA
UK news in pictures 17 November 2021 The sun rises over South Shields Lighthouse, on the North East coast of England
PA
UK news in pictures 16 November 2021 ancer Maithili Vijayakumar at the launch of 2021 Diwali celebrations at St Andrew Square in Edinburgh
PA
UK news in pictures 15 November 2021 Forensic officers work outside Liverpool Women's Hospital, following a car blast, in Liverpool
Reuters
UK news in pictures 14 November 2021 Wreaths by the Cenotaph after the Remembrance Sunday service in Whitehall, London
PA
UK news in pictures 13 November 2021 Richard Ratcliffe, the husband of detainee Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, is ending his hunger strike in central London after almost three weeks. Ratcliffe has spent 21 days camped outside the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office in London without food. He began his demonstration on 24 October after his wife lost her latest appeal in Iran, saying his family was “caught in a dispute between two states”
PA
UK news in pictures 12 November 2021 Peter Green protesting outside the Cop26 gates during the official final day of the Cop26 summit in Glasgow.
PA
UK news in pictures 11 November 2021 Seagulls fly around the statue entitled 'Tommy', a first World War soldier by artist Ray Lonsdale at dawn in Seaham, Britain
Reuters
UK news in pictures 10 November 2021 Climate activists dressed as characters inspired by the Netflix series “Squid Game” protest as they ask Samsung to go 100% renewable energy, outside the venue for COP26 in Glasgow
Reuters
UK news in pictures 9 November 2021 A deer statue silhouetted at Loch Faskally in Pitlochry, Scotland
Reuters
UK news in pictures 8 November 2021 Sunrise over St Mary's Lighthouse at Whitley Bay on the North East coast of England
PA
UK news in pictures 7 November 2021 Activists from Friends of the Earth during a demonstration calling for an end to all new oil and gas projects in the North Sea outside the UK Government's Cop26 hub during the Cop26 summit in Glasgow
PA
UK news in pictures 6 November 2021 Protesters take part in a rally organised by the Cop26 Coalition in Glasgow demanding global climate justice
PA
UK news in pictures 5 November 2021 Final touches are made to a life sized Sir David Attenborough cake surrounded by animals as part of a display created by a group of cake artists during Cake International at NEC Birmingham
PA
UK news in pictures 4 November 2021 A spectacular display of the Northern Lights seen over Derwentwater, near Keswick in the Lake District
PA
UK news in pictures 3 November 2021 Police and demonstrators at a Extinction Rebellion protest on Buchanan Street, during the Cop26 summit in Glasgow
PA
UK news in pictures 2 November 2021 A person walks along the Basingstoke canal near to Dogmersfield in Hampshire
PA
UK news in pictures 1 November 2021 Sir David Attenborough delivers a speech during Cop26 in Glasgow
Reuters
UK news in pictures 31 October 2021 Extinction Rebellion activists protest in Edinburgh as the Cop26 conference begins in Glasgow
Getty
UK news in pictures 30 October 2021 First Minister Nicola Sturgeon with Mapuche leader and Minga Indigena Lead Coordinator Claflin Lafkenche (right) alongside indigenous delegates at a ceremonial gathering at the Tramway in Glasgow in a symbolic gesture to mark a unified demand for climate justice
PA
Insisting that voters did not want to hear politicians talking about themselves, he replied: “That is exactly the kind of question that breaks the golden rule.
“What we're focusing on is getting the job done. What we're focusing on is trying to make sure that we not only have the fastest vaccine and the fastest booster rollout, as we've already done, but we're able because of the Get Boosted Now campaign to avert some of the more damaging consequences of Omicron.
“That is what the government is engaged in doing. That is what I am focused on. And you know what I think that is what people would want me to be focused on right now.”
Mr Johnson described the loss of a 23,000 majority in North Shropshire as “very disappointing”.
And he added: “I totally understand people's frustrations. I hear what the voters are saying in North Shropshire. And in all humility, I've got to accept that that verdict.
“What I would say is, of course, I understand that what voters want us as the government to be doing at all times, is to focus on them and on their priorities. And my job as prime minister is to get the focus onto the stuff that really matters to all of us.”
Asked whether reports of parties in Downing Street were to blame for the defeat, Mr Johnson said: “Basically what's been going wrong is that in the last few weeks, some things have been going very well but what people have been hearing is just a constant litany of stuff about politics and politicians and stuff that isn't about them, and isn't about the things that we can do to make life better.”
He told his interviewer: “The job of the government is to make people like you interested in the booster rollout and in skills and in housing, and in everything else that we're doing.
Recommended What we know about how Omicron responds to vaccines Tories put Johnson on notice after crushing by-election humiliation Will there be another lockdown before Christmas as omicron cases rise?
“Unfortunately, you’re totally right, we haven't been able to get the focus on those issues.”
Mr Johnson accepted that his own attempt to save Mr Paterson from punishment for paid lobbying had fuelled voter frustration, saying it “comes into the overall category of politicians talking about ourselves and seeming to be focused on these issues at the expense of things that really matter to people”.