Tory candidates are calling themselves “local conservatives” and are asking voters not to “punish” them for the Partygate scandal.
The remarkable attempts of some candidates to distance themselves from Boris Johnson’s problems were revealed in election leaflets distributed on the eve of Thursday’s national elections.
They read: “This Thursday, please do not punish local conservatives for the mistakes made in Westminster, we are local and proud of where we live and like you we wish the best for Hartlepool.
At least two candidates in the leading city with red walls have put an identical message in their leaflets, and there have been reports of similar tactics being used by some Tories in London.
The prime minister, meanwhile, has hinted that the prime minister may have to fall on his sword if it becomes clear that he has lost the support of his own lawmakers before Friday’s decisive results.
Two weeks ago, Mr Johnson was forced to give up his attempt to block a disrespectful investigation into whether he had lied to parliament about the blocking parties on Downing Street.
George Justis, the environment minister, said: “All prime ministers will always be very aware of the mood in their parliamentary party, because no government can do anything if it does not enjoy the support of the parliamentary party as a whole.
“So, of course, the prime minister will think about these things.”
Mr Johnson escaped additional fines from Sofia police on election day, but the controversy is haunting conservatives.
On Tuesday, the prime minister revealed that “so far” he had not received a questionnaire about leaving party number 10 during a blockade of his outgoing communications director, Lee Kane.
Some Downing Street employees have reportedly received questionnaires about the event, which took place on the same night in November 2020 as the Aba party in Mr Johnson’s own apartment.
Daisy Cooper, the Liberal Democrat’s deputy leader, said the Conservative candidates would not be able to escape public reaction against illegal parties, as they called themselves.
“Local or not, Conservative candidates still support a prime minister who breaks the law and a chancellor who raises taxes – even if they are ashamed to admit it,” she said.
Government ministers have also been accused of having nothing to do with the cost of living crisis – as Mr Justis suggested hard-pressed Britons buy cheaper “value” brands to save money.
Mr Johnson was criticized for downplaying the biggest drop in living standards in decades when he said voters were “feeling a pinch”.
“I know that families across the country are feeling the pinch as the cost of living rises,” the prime minister wrote in a newspaper article. “That’s why we’re focused on growing the economy to deal with the cost of living, and that’s why reducing bills and reducing municipal waste is more important than ever.”
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