But now the party is facing one of the toughest electoral tests in the city and the prime minister risks being outraged by his own supporters if Partygate polls threaten to hit them at the ballot box. At the iconic Tory council in Wandsworth, voters are wondering if the party’s commitment to keeping city taxes low is appealing enough during the cost-of-living crisis to prevent them from staying home or giving Labor a chance. While Labor led the popular vote with just a few hundred votes in the last municipal elections, the Conservatives still had the highest number of councilors. The Conservatives are fighting in Wandsworth. Photo: Graeme Robertson / The Guardian “It does not matter if we make big profits or even if we gain total control over some other areas. “If Wandsworth falls, that will be the story of the night,” admitted a minister who had campaigned in the area. Ruth, who lives in Battersea and was a member of the Conservatives, said that as a lawyer, she was deeply dissatisfied with the Prime Minister’s violation of Covid laws. “I usually voted for the Conservatives. “But while it is run by a man who I do not consider to have integrity, I would not vote for him,” he said. Speaking as a conservative adviser told her at her home in south-west London, Ruth spoke clearly about the message she wanted to send. “I thought the Conservative vote at the moment would seem to support the national party, because the media is saying that if there are bad results in local elections for Boris, then the people can move against him, which is what I want to happen. ” She acknowledged that she was “very happy with how the local party works”, but added: “The leader is such an important issue that you just have to change it.” Margaret, who lives nearby and works as a teacher, is less involved with Partygate and says she usually votes for Conservatives, but this time she is hesitant. “I just think there is so much nonsense with the party at the top,” he said. “It has nothing to do with Partygate, I just do not think it’s very capable. “I think he is a little disappointed. I had good hopes when he came in and I just think he has really disappeared into the background. “You do not hear from him anymore – except when he is wrong.” Margaret said she would probably abstain because she was not impressed by Ker Starmer’s work, adding: “I’m a little disappointed right now.” Lauren, who works for Citizens Advice, said she would normally vote for the Liberal Democrats and was tempted to vote for the Conservatives at the local level, as it was a Labor-Tory overthrow. “It’s a challenge in your mind to distinguish between the national party,” he said. Activists pounding the streets have queues ready for hesitant voters such as Ruth, Margaret and Lauren. “Boris is not on the ballot,” is a common refrain. As is the argument that even if the wealthiest residents do not rely on Wandsworth’s lower municipal tax, their more oppressed neighbors could. But it can still be a difficult sale. In a nod to Jeffrey Howe’s criticism of Margaret Thatcher, a city councilor on the Conservative WhatsApp group of Lambeth and Southwark complained that it would be “easier if the national party does not break our local bats in the fold.” A Tory MP also complained privately: “It’s like Downing Street hating Tory councilors and thinking about how to have as few as possible.” Labor is reminding voters that only a few hundred votes could make a difference. Photo: Graeme Robertson / The Guardian Johnson certainly still has some supporters in London. When a conservative canvas knocked on Peter’s door and asked him if he had national concerns about the party, he said he did not and that the attention given to breaking Covid’s rules was a “distraction”. “We are in a proxy war with Russia,” Peter said. “And the prime minister is essentially leading the free world.” And there are many pressing local issues affecting residents, from recycling to schools, crime and libraries. One resident, Antonietta, desperately wanted the council and police to crack down on motorcyclists driving dangerously fast on the sidewalk in front of her house. “If you do something for the road, you can have my support, otherwise I will have to vote for someone else,” he said when asked who he would support on May 5. For Labor, the challenge is to remind voters that only a few hundred votes could turn the council red. While the number of volunteers offering to help with the research has plummeted since 2018, when a larger member was mobilized under Jeremy Corbyn, fewer voters are said to be closing their doors when activists arrive. “I would say it will be incredibly tight. “It still looks like it is on the tip of a knife, really 50-50 elections,” said Simon Hogg, Labor leader on Wandsworth council. He said the Conservative campaign was based “only on this issue of municipal tax, while we fit in with this municipal tax, but we also have ambitious policies for the environment, housing, crime and education as well.” Hogg acknowledged that “the key issue in the election was whether Labor could trust your money” and understood the concerns, as Croydon’s Labor-led council was on the verge of bankruptcy. However, he insisted that the Labor Party had a “serious, ambitious, cost-effective manifesto, that we will tax fairly” and that they would “spend wisely”. He claimed that the credibility of the Wandsworth Conservatives was declining and that they no longer operated a narrow ship. Hong’s insistence that the tribe appear to be on the edge of a knife is not excessive. Jonathan Carr-West, chief executive of the Local Government Information Unit, said that while opinion polls suggest the Conservatives may lose control of the council, “they are certainly close, both in terms of seats and majorities in some seats. ». He said: “Given Wandsworth’s portrayal as the Conservative flagship, his loss would be a serious blow to the government and would immediately fuel the debate over the future of the prime minister. “At the same time, it would be part of a longer-term trend in which Labor has tightened its grip on Inner London. “In the last decade, we have seen a growing polarization, with Labor voting concentrating in big cities and university cities and Conservative support spreading across the rest of the country. “Wandsworth and Westminster resisted that, but the margins have narrowed.”
