Quiz of The Week: 11 - 17 December

Boris Johnson this week received another shattering blow to his premiership after the loss of the ultra-safe North Shropshire seat to the Liberal Democrats.

The West Midlands constituents chose Lib Dem candidate Helen Morgan as their new MP in a shock win that saw North Shropshire elect its first non-Conservative MP in almost 200 years. 

Morgan won the rural constituency in a by-election that was triggered by Conservative MP Owen Paterson resigning from his post following a parliamentary lobbying scandal. At the last general election, the former minister won almost 63% of the vote in the historically safe seat, beating second-placed Labour by nearly 23,000 votes.

The loss could spell serious trouble for the prime minister, who has said that he takes “personal responsibility” for the “very disappointing results”. 

Need a reminder of some of the other headlines over the past seven days?

• The PM faced criticism over Downing Street Christmas parties during a national lockdown and the biggest rebellion of his premiership from his backbench MPs, who refused to support his plans to introduce Covid passports among other more stringent Covid curbing measures
• The introduction of so-called Plan B measures has led some to accuse Johnson of introducing a “lockdown by stealth”, while speculation has grown that he could be forced to impose a fourth lockdown as cases of the Omicron variant continue to rise at a dizzying rate
• The UK had its first Omicron death this week, while NHS England announced that it was returning “to its highest level of emergency preparedness”
• France banned British tourists from entering the country without “compelling reasons” such as work or family matters, amid the rapid spread of the variant
• Former US intelligence officer Anne Sacoolas, who is accused of killing British teenager Harry Dunn, is to face criminal proceedings two years after she fled the country and claimed diplomatic immunity from the charges 
• The parents of 15-year-old school shooter Ethan Crumbley, who killed four pupils at Michigan High School, were charged with involuntary manslaughter.