The Tories have avoided total wipeout in last night’s triple by-election. Rishi Sunak dodged the embarrassment of becoming the first Prime Minister in 50 years to lose three by-elections in a single day. While the Lib Dems won Somerton and Frome and Labour secured victory in Selby and Ainsty, the Conservative candidate in Uxbridge, Steve Tuckwell, managed to hold onto Boris Johnson’s old seat with a much reduced majority of 495 votes.

The result in Selby and Ainsty meanwhile, where Labour candidate Keir Mather took the seat, was the biggest majority the Labour party has ever overturned in a by-election: the Tories...