So how could such a huge political shock happen? 

Fresh from a bruising Old Bexley and Sidcup by-election, where the Tories held onto their seat but with a substantially-reduced majority, many in the party believed the result in North Shropshire would be closer than pundits had anticipated. 

Strategists worried that the sleaze scandal surrounding Owen Paterson’s departure from Commons could impact on the party’s vote share. 

That was before a leaked video of Downing Street aides joking about last year’s Christmas party was released on Dec 7. 

Tony Diver sets out the issues that paved the way for defeat, and Helen Chandler-Wilde spoke to voters and discovered how the result was far from a shock for them.

Echoes of Eastbourne defeat

Another question on Tory lips today will be how to avoid this happening again. 

Tim Bale recounts the ways the North Shropshire nightmare is eerily reminiscent of Margaret Thatcher’s Eastbourne defeat – and outlines the questions it poses for Mr Johnson. 

A slew of scandals led up to the by-election and, as in Murder on the Orient Express, the voters were lining up to dig in the knife for their own private reasons. 

But Ross Clark picks out one factor that has gone missing from initial punditry on the defeat. 

Camilla Tominey sets out why the BBC must also go deeper than the #BorisJohnsonMustGo narrative that pervades on social media, and how it has become wilfully ignorant about Tory Britain.

Brexit ‘does not come up’

The Liberal Democrats claim voters have “moved on” from Brexit and that promises on local issues are what helped secure its victory. 

Despite North Shropshire having voted Leave in the 2016 referendum, it did not prove a sticking point for its constituents when it came to Thursday’s by-election. 

The Lib Dems insisted Brexit “does not come up on the doorstep anymore” and that “people are talking about the issues which matter to them right now – such as health services, cost of living crisis or just general dissatisfaction at how the Government is running the country”. 

Ben Obese-Jecty reckons the Lib Dems can enjoy their moment in the sun but outlines the reasons why they should not get too excited.

Covid briefing: Latest updates

PS – Thanks again for sharing your unique family Christmas traditions. Please do email yours to us here, using the subject line “Christmas traditions” and leaving your name, age and where you are from. We will continue to share the best with your fellow Front Page readers. Here is one from David McManamon, 75, from Highworth, Wiltshire:

“Our Christmas tradition is Feuerzangenbowle – a traditional German Christmas season drink. We discovered it while I was stationed in Münster, West Germany, in the early 1970s. It could simply be described as mulled wine on steroids. It is a mix of red wine, seasoned cloves, and cinnamon with sliced orange and lemon, that is heated in a suitable container over a burner. A sugar cone is placed in a holder over the wine. Brown rum is poured over it and then set alight. The sugar melts and drops into the wine below. The aroma is almost intoxicating.”

Around the world: Ten years of Kim Jong-un

North Korea marked the 10th anniversary of the death of leader Kim Jong-il today with a memorial service attended by thousands and overseen by his son Kim Jong-un, state TV footage showed. Kim was shown visiting his father’s mausoleum and standing on a platform overlooking crowds of people on the grounds of the palace on a freezing day in Pyongyang. Dismissed as too young and too inexperienced when he inherited the post of supreme leader aged 29 following his father’s sudden death on Dec 17, 2011, many thought Kim would not be able to keep the military and party in line. Julian Ryall examines how the baby-faced dictator grew into an unpredictable nuclear hard man.

Comment and analysis

Friday big-read

I recreated The Holiday to see if I could find love in New York