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Mr Johnson was speaking at a news conference in Rwanda hours after the Liberal Democrats overturned a 24,000 Tory majority to win the Devon seat of Tiverton and Honiton, while Labour took back the red wall constituency of Wakefield in Yorkshire. Mr Johnson told reporters in Kigali: “I’m not going to pretend these are brilliant results.
“We’ve got to listen, we’ve got to learn.
“When people are finding it tough, they send messages to politicians and politicians have got to respond – and that’s what we’re doing.”
Asked if he was worried about Conservative colleagues plotting to replace him while he was abroad, the PM bluntly replied: “The answer to the question is no.”
Mr Johnson warned the public that “no doubt there will be some tough times ahead” but claimed his government understands “how to fix our economic issues”.
The Tory party’s poor by-election performances overnight led to the resignation of Conservative Chairman Oliver Dowden, who told the PM: “We cannot carry on with business as usual.”
Former Conservative leader Michael Howard has urged Mr Johnson to resign for the good of their party and the nation, as he urged the cabinet to consider resigning to force him out.
However, Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries defended the prime minister, calling the results a “reminder that we must be relentless in cracking on with the job of delivering”.
She also claimed by-elections were “useless… as an indication of absolutely anything at all”, adding the government would “remain relentlessly focused” on delivering for the public.
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