Planet Normal: Bruising by-election results prove voters will choose 'anyone but Boris'

The by-election results are in and the Tories not only lost, they lost big.

On the latest Planet Normal podcast, which you can listen to using the audio player above, columnists Allison Pearson and Liam Halligan warn the Conservative Party will be eviscerated at the next general election if Boris Johnson remains leader.

"I think we need to we desperately need a reset," Allison said.

"The huge danger now is that this major coalition of voters will be A.B.B: Anyone But Boris, and that's going to be very, very hard to come back from."

Podcast co-host Liam Halligan agrees that Boris Johnson can't cling on until the next general election, but argues that those positioning to replace him as leader will not want to take up the mantle right now.

"They're going to want Boris to be a human sponge. They're going to want him to absorb the pain of this recession which could be likely, they're going to want him to be the fall guy," Liam said.

"When industrial unrest increases, no one wants to stand there and take that. They want Boris to take that. Then you get rid. Then you bring in a new person a year before a general election, giving them time to bed in."

Also joining the podcast this week is financial expert Justin Urquhart Stewart who delivers some dire economic predictions. He tells our co-hosts that rising inflation is here to stay for some time, and that it could have serious consequences for investment in the UK.

Listen to Planet Normal, a weekly Telegraph podcast featuring news and views from beyond the bubble, using the audio player at the top of this article, or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your preferred podcast app.