In June 2021, the
Conservative Party unexpectedly lost the safe seat of
Chesham and Amersham to the
Liberal Democrats after a successful round of
local elections. This was the first big defeat for both Johnson and the Conservatives since the
2019 Brecon and Radnorshire by-election, also a Liberal Democrats gain. The following month, despite the Conservatives being heavily favoured to win the
Batley and Spen by-election, the seat was narrowly retained by the
Labour Party, with the Conservatives' surprise loss blamed in part on a scandal that saw health secretary
Matt Hancock forced to resign the weekend prior to the by-election, after admitting to breaching social distancing regulations during an extramarital affair. While the by-election defeats were generally seen as being embarrassing for the government, they were by and in large not regarded as a sign of imminent danger, as the Conservatives continued to command a strong lead in opinion polls, with press coverage primarily focusing on possible challenges to Labour leader
Keir Starmer by allies of previous leader
Jeremy Corbyn. In October 2021, it emerged that Conservative MP
Owen Paterson had two second jobs, both based in Northern Ireland and gained through contacts gained while Shadow Northern Ireland Secretary, and both of which had involved him advocating for government contracts or changes in standards on behalf of the companies. The
Commons Select Committee on Standards found that these breached paid advocacy rules and called for Paterson to be suspended from the House for thirty days, which would have triggered a
recall petition. When these recommendations were voted on in the Commons, Conservative MP
Andrea Leadsom attached a controversial amendment to delay Paterson's suspension and instead launch a review into the Commons Standards Process itself; the amendment passed. When it emerged that other parties would refuse to take part, this idea was dropped and the government began to prepare for a vote on the suspension. Paterson resigned on 5 November, before such a vote could occur, triggering the
2021 North Shropshire by-election, which the Liberal Democrats unexpectedly won. In late 2021, the
Partygate scandal began after details started to emerge about a number of parties held by government and Conservative Party staff in
10 Downing Street in 2020 and 2021, in violation of
COVID-19 public health restrictions. In January 2022, the
Metropolitan Police announced that it would open an investigation into the gatherings, and the civil servant
Sue Gray was announced to be leading a Cabinet Office inquiry. Gray's final report in May 2022 described multiple events, including excessive drinking and a lack of respect shown to cleaning and security staff. She concluded that senior political and civil service leadership "must bear responsibility for this culture". Public disquiet over the events led to a decline in public support for
Boris Johnson, the government and the Conservatives. In May 2022, another round of
local elections took place, resulting in big gains for the
Labour Party and the Liberal Democrats, and losses for the Conservatives, including the councils of Westminster and Wandsworth which had been Conservative since the premiership of
James Callaghan. In early June 2022, a
vote of confidence in Johnson's leadership of the Conservative Party was held. The sudden rise in letters to
Graham Brady, chairman of the
1922 Committee, which made this vote possible was partially as a result of an incident before the
Platinum Jubilee National Service of Thanksgiving, where Johnson was booed by crowds outside
St Paul's Cathedral. Johnson won the vote with the support of 59% of the Conservative MPs (211–148). The Conservatives lost two seats in by-elections on 23 June 2022 in
Wakefield and
Tiverton & Honiton, with a 13% swing to Labour and 30% swing to the Liberal Democrats respectively. This led to the resignation of
Oliver Dowden as
Chairman of the Conservative Party, who said in his resignation letter that "we cannot carry on with business as usual". In late June 2022, the
Chris Pincher scandal erupted after the Conservative MP
Chris Pincher resigned from his position as Deputy Chief Whip due to allegations that he sexually assaulted two men. A few days later, a number of new allegations against him emerged, including allegations that his behaviour had previously been reported to
10 Downing Street and that Johnson had ignored those allegations. ==Collapse of the government==