Local elections could spell end of the party for UK's Johnson

Record ID: 1671220

  • Title: Local elections could spell end of the party for UK's Johnson
  • Date: 29th April 2022
  • Summary: NEWCASTLE-UNDER-LYME, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (APRIL 27, 2022) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF ANTIQUES INSIDE SHOP VARIOUS OF OUTDOOR ANTIQUE MARKET IN NEWCASTLE-UNDER-LYME TOWN CENTRE CLOCK TOWER OF GUILDHALL VARIOUS PEOPLE SITTING NEXT TO OATCAKE MOBILE CAFE VARIOUS OATCAKE CATERER, IVAN HEATH, AT WORK (SOUNDBITE) (English) OATCAKE CATERER, IVAN HEATH, SAYING: “I don’t think Boris Johnson represents anybody, particularly working class. I don’t think (chancellor Rishi) Sunak, is that his name, Sunak? Yeah. I don’t think he’s got any idea about people, any idea about life because they were all born with a silver spoon in their mouth, you know, and they’re just not part of society. They think they are and they con you into that but you can see they’re not when they’re having these big parties and everybody else is doing nothing, sat at home doing nothing.” TOWN CENTRE OUTSIDE NEWCASTLE-UNDER-LYME GUILDHALL FLAG FLYING NEXT TO CLOCK TOWER PIGEONS IN SQUARE VARIOUS OF SQUARE WITH SIGN READING (English): "NEWCASTLE-UNDER-LYME TOWN CENTRE GUIDE" VARIOUS OF GUILDHALL VOLUNTEER, ELAINE EDGELEY VARIOUS OF EMPTY SHOP AND TO LET SIGN (SOUNDBITE (English) GUILDHALL VOLUNTEER, ELAINE EDGELEY, 58, SAYING: “He comes across to me as that naughty boy in school, with his hair all messed up and his tie skew whiff and his shirt hanging out and he’s almost like a little boy that’s thinking ‘can I get away with it?” UNION JACK AND CLOCKTOWER (SOUNDBITE) (English) GUILDHALL VOLUNTEER, ELAINE EDGELEY, SAYING: “It’s people like Putin we’ve got to be worried about, not Boris Johnson, our loveable rogue with messy hair.” SIGN AT ENTRANCE TO NEWCASTLE-UNDER-LYME STREET VIEW OF SUBURBAN STREET VARIOUS OF CONSERVATIVE COUNCILLOR CANDIDATE, TREVOR JOHNSON, LEAFLETING (SOUNDBITE) (English) CONSERVATIVE COUNCILLOR CANDIDATE, TREVOR JOHNSON, RESPONDING TO QUESTION ON WHETHER BORIS JOHNSON HAS SAME LEVEL OF SUPPORT IN RED WALL SEATS: “Not at the moment, he’s got to rebuild trust. I know he’s got to do that. He’s got to come up with some way, which I don’t put it beyond him, I really won’t. He’ll do one of those speech that he occasionally comes up with.” NEWCASTLE-UNDER-LYME, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (APRIL 27, 2022) (REUTERS) (MUTE) VARIOUS OF STREET VARIOUS OF LABOUR COUNCILLOR CANDIDATE, DAVID GROCOTT, AND PROSPECTIVE COUNCILLOR SUE SPEAKING WITH CONSTITUENTS BAG READING (English): I’M VOTING LABOUR VARIOUS OF LABOUR COUNCILLOR CANDIDATE, DAVID GROCOTT WALKING IN PARK VISTA WITH MEMORIAL (SOUNDBITE) (English) LABOUR COUNCILLOR CANDIDATE, DAVID GROCOTT, SAYING: “Everybody is allowed to make mistakes, we’re all human. I think it’s just where people say well it’s not just one, we’re seeing multiple ones coming out now. It’s not one, it’s two, It’s three. I think some people say, well, was it mistakes? Maybe not.” CRAWLEY, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (APRIL 28, 2022) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF SIGN IN SHOPPING AREA READING (English): "CRAWLEY: A PLACE TO GROW" SIGN READING (English): CRAWLEY BOROUGH COUNCIL SHOPPERS ON STREET (SOUNDBITE) (English) FORMER CONSERVATIVE VOTER, JULIET SHENTON, 61, SAYING: “I think he should resign because he just hasn’t proved to be a trustworthy leader. He’s lied, several times and you know someone who lies like that, are they lying to us about other things?” TO LET SIGN ON SHOPPING STREET/ PEOPLE WALKING DOWN STREET TO LET SIGN (SOUNDBITE) (English) CONSERVATIVE VOTER, JOHN LATHBURY, 86, SAYING: “As far as I’m concerned it’s an irrelevance we could do without and leave the government to get on with what they were put there to do.” VARIOUS OF SHOPPERS (SOUNDBITE) (English) POSSIBLE CONSERVATIVE VOTER, MERRY FARR, 77, SAYING: “I think it would be Conservative because I believe in Boris Johnson. He seems to have the most backbone of all the parties, if they’d forget "partygate" and get on with looking after the country, rather than worry about what people did during the two year pandemic - it’s over.” VARIOUS OF SHOPPERS
  • Embargoed: 13th May 2022 05:59
  • Keywords: Boris Johnson British voters Conservatives Keir Starmer Labour Local elections Partygate Tories constituents electorate northern England southern England
  • Location: VARIOUS LOCATIONS
  • City: VARIOUS LOCATIONS
  • Country: UK
  • Topics: Europe,Government/Politics,Elections/Voting
  • Reuters ID: LVA001464728042022RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Outside Newcastle-Under-Lyme's Guildhall, the weekly antiques market is in full swing.
    Here in the Brexit-backing town, about 170 miles northwest of London, it's a two-horse race ahead between the Conservatives and Labour, and a key battleground in local elections being held next Thursday (May 5).
    Once known for coal and steel, Newcastle-Under-Lyme was traditionally a stronghold for the main opposition Labour Party, but the Conservatives won the parliamentary seat in 2019 for the first time in a century, and outright control of the council for the first time ever last year.
    In 2019, Johnson upended conventional British politics by winning in both the traditional Conservative southern heartlands and more industrial areas in central and northern England.
    But his support has waned as the government grapples with a cost-of-living crisis and revelations about his conduct.
    Ivan Heath makes oatcakes, a delicacy only found in Staffordshire, from his mobile truck near the town's Guildhall.
    Although he said he's apolitical, one thing is clear, he doesn't like the current leadership in 10 Downing Street.
    “I don’t think Boris Johnson represents anybody, particularly working class," said heath.
    "I don’t think Sunak, is that his name, Sunak? Yeah. I don’t think he’s got any idea about people, any idea about life because they were all born with a silver spoon in their mouth, you know, and they’re just not part of society. They think they are and they con you into that but you can see they’re not when they’re having these big parties and everybody else is doing nothing, sat at home doing nothing.”
    But others in the town, like Elaine Edgeley, still supports the PM.
    “It’s people like Putin we’ve got to be worried about, not Boris Johnson, our loveable rogue with messy hair,” she said.
    Many Conservative lawmakers are wondering if Boris Johnson is still an electoral asset, and a poor showing in local elections next Thursday might provoke a leadership challenge.
    Trevor Johnson, a local Conservative councillor who is standing for re-election, admitted some voters were angry but said the backlash was not as severe as he had feared.
    “Not at the moment, he’s got to rebuild trust. I know he’s got to do that. He’s got to come up with some way, which I don’t put it beyond him, he really won’t. He’ll do one of those speech that he occasionally comes up with”.
    Johnson's name and photo were conspicuous by their absence from his pamphlets.
    Labour councillor David Grocott said he had found widespread anger that senior government officials were partying while the public were obeying strict rules which meant some could not say farewell to loved ones dying in hospital.
    “Everybody is allowed to make mistakes, we’re all human. I think it’s just where people say well it’s not just one, we’re seeing multiple ones coming out now. It’s not one, it’s two, It’s three. I think some people say, well, was it mistakes? Maybe not,” said Grocott, who was unable to see his father in hospital before he died from COVID in 2020.
    Trevor Johnson, a local Conservative councillor who is standing for re-election, admitted some voters were angry but said the backlash was not as severe as he had feared.
    According to a YouGov poll after Johnson was fined, almost 80% thought he had lied about parties, while other surveys show the public overwhelmingly think he should resign.
    Johnson says he is focused on the major crises of the day - the highest inflation in three decades and the war in Ukraine.
    In Crawley, a town south of London which has a Conservative member of parliament (MP) but whose council is evenly split, the issue was a key factor for some voters.
    Another Conservative voter Juliet Shenton, 61, also wants Johnson gone. "Are they lying to us about other things?" she asked.
    The prime minister and his supporters will hope such discontent is not widespread, and he remains popular with some.
    John Lathbury, 86, said he couldn't care less about parties and would continue to vote Conservative, while Merry Farr, 77, said "Boris" needed to stay and stand up to Russia.
    Elections are being held in local authorities across Wales and Scotland, and mainly in towns and metropolitan areas of England, including London which is already dominated by Labour.
    Of almost 7,000 seats being contested, Labour are defending far more than the Conservatives in England.
    An analysis by pollster Find Out Now and political consultancy Electoral Calculus suggested the Conservatives could lose some 800 council seats and Labour could gain control of about 20 councils including Newcastle-under-Lyme and Crawley.
    (Production: Lucy Towers)
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