Election leaflets distance 'Local Conservatives' from Boris Johnson

[muriel_volestrangler]

Election leaflets seen by the Guardian show local candidates across England playing down their Tory affiliations, eschewing pictures of Johnson and styling themselves as “Local Conservative” on voting ballot papers.

Conservative central office registered “Local Conservative” as an alternative title in early 2019, when Theresa May’s unpopularity was at its height. It is being widely used in this week’s polls as Conservatives weigh up the electoral costs of the Partygate scandal.
...
A leaflet for Keith Rowe, in Birmingham Northfield, carries a picture of the label “Local Conservative” as it will appear on the ballot paper, and the claim: “This is a straight fight between Keith and an unknown Labour candidate.”

In Newcastle-under-Lyme, Conservative leaflets emphasise: “This election is about local issues, not national issues.”

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/may/04/election-leaflets-distance-local-conservatives-from-boris-johnson

The Tory candidate for my borough council hasn't used 'Local'. She hasn't used 'Conservative' either, apart from the (I guess legally-required) smallest print possible of "promoted by ... and printed by WCA, of The Conservative Office, ..." (WCA being the Winchester Conservative Association , the party that Dare Not Speak Its Name, but found it's in its postal address). The other Conservatives running for the Parish Council are just "our Parish Team". At least the leaflet is printed on light blue paper, so there was still a vague clue who it was from. No naming of the local Tory MP either, though he is in a couple of the photos.

So I hope this means they're getting a lot of "we can't trust Tory bastards" on the doorstep.

[T_i_B]

1. Doesn't cut it with me

Local Tories are the ones who cheered Boris Johnson and company on when they made those bad decisions that are now hurting the Conservative Party. They are the ones who voted in droves to make Johnson the party leader.

And on that note, how were the local elections results for everyone? Bit of a mixed bag round here, but it does appear that the Tories may have peaked in much of the "red wall" and Labour are starting to show signs of life. Greens are also doing very well, although I'm not happy with their policies at a local level.

[muriel_volestrangler]

2. Swing from Tories to Lib Dems

Eastleigh is a very unusual council - solidly Lib Dem (the local paper even used "one party state&quot . Labour has no councillors, the Tories are now down to one - lost one this time - and there are 4 independents (centred around the area the Lib Dems wanted to develop more). And there are 34 Lib Dems.

But I looked at the 2018 and 2022 votes where the Tory lost - an area you might say is typical Home Counties, and often returned Tories. In 2018, the Tory got about 20% more votes than the Lib Dem; this time, the Lib Dem got about 50% more than the Tory. So that's a notable change.

[T_i_B]

3. At the last 2 local elections...

...Lib Dems have have eeked in where I am. This time round the Tory vote collapsed but a lot of the disaffected Tories seem to have stayed at home or voted for Labour (who actually fought a strong campaign for once)

I suspect that the uselessness of the local Tory MP Miriam Cates also contributed to this as well as all the economic problems and Westminster sleaze.

Oh, and the new Mayor of Sheffield Region Oliver Coppard is somebody who I've known from childhood. His political views are not dissimilar to mine, but he's somebody I find to be very full of himself.