UK prime minister suggests cost of living crisis to blame for Tory election defeats

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has implied that the cost of the living crisis was to blame for what happened, not his own conduct or leadership.

"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," Johnson told broadcasters in Kigali on June 24 about the byelection defeats, during his visit to Rwanda to attend the Commonwealth summit, according to The Guardian. 

"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’re now facing pressures on the cost of living, we’re seeing spikes in fuel prices, energy costs, food costs - that’s hitting people," he added.