Tories could do better than expected in May elections as Sunak shakes off predecessor’s legacy, Lord Hayward predicts
, as sought by some Conservative MPs, could well transform the party’s fortunes, but “in a negative way, not in a positive way”, Hayward said. “Having had two different prime ministerial changes last year, there is no credibility whatsoever that we would have another one and not say the Tory party is finished,” he said. “It would be an utter joke … The electorate would not accept another change.
“The impact of Boris on Tory party polling appears to be diminishing, and this may be currently to the Conservatives’ advantage,” Hayward said, noting that polling showed the indicator for “Conservative leader as the best prime minister” was now some way above the party’s own rating. This “has the potential to drag the Conservatives up, if Rishi can continue to maintain that messaging through all the noise of other things”, Hayward said. “The population has not parked Partygate. They still view it as a Tory party matter, but they are viewing it as a Boris matter.”
These small signs of recovery should, however, be seen in the wider context, Hayward said: “The reality is that the Conservatives were in a very difficult, if not dire, position, and they now appear to be moving to a difficult one. I’m in no way saying that they’re out of the woods by any stretch of the imagination.”In the local elections on 4 May more than 8,000 council seats will be contested across 84 metropolitan, unitary and district councils in England, as well as four English mayoralties.
Philippines Latest News, Philippines Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Kwarteng: Johnson could survive Partygate grilling and lead Tories againAlly says he would ‘never rule out’ former PM’s return as he prepares to face the privileges committee
Read more »
Boris Johnson makes last-ditch bid to discredit Partygate inquiryEx-prime minister due at televised Commons committee hearing, with legal team about to publish new evidence backing his claims
Read more »
‘An opportunist in search of an opportunity’: what next for Boris Johnson?The Partygate and pandemic inquiries could end his political career. But his band of dedicated supporters hope he can still return as leader to save the Tories
Read more »
MPs’ Partygate verdict on Boris Johnson may not arrive until MayPrivileges committee not expected to release report on whether former PM misled parliament until April at the earliest
Read more »
Workforce shortages need to be fixed by bringing ‘young, skilled workers’The workforce shortages within the country need to be fixed by bringing “young, skilled workers” into the country, according to Shadow Immigration and Citizenship Minister Dan Tehan. “We know we’ve got workforce shortages in this country and we know that they need to be fixed,” he told Sky News host Peta Credlin. “But they needed to be fixed by bringing young, skilled workers to address those workforce shortages. “But what the Labor party are doing is hell-bent on expanding our migration, they’re not doing it in ways which are going to fix these workforce shortages, and what it’s doing is putting enormous pressure on housing.”
Read more »
Boris Johnson set to submit Partygate dossier, saying he didn’t deliberately mislead MPs – UK politics liveFormer PM expected to attack privileges committee inquiry as unfair before appearing before committee on Wednesday
Read more »