Boris Johnson suffered a Tory revolt on the eve of the decisive local elections, while being warned that he would face new questions about his leadership as soon as the results were received.
As millions were ready to go to the polls, some party candidates took the extraordinary step of renaming themselves “local conservatives”, begging voters not to “punish” them for the Partygate scandal.
The prime minister was also attacked by two of his former advisers, who issued letters urging voters to support other parties, accusing the prime minister of “spreading lies” and “taking us for fools”.
The leader of a mass Tory group told The Independent that anger against the 10 parties, compounded by fears of rising living costs, prompted party supporters to stay home on Thursday.
“People most affected by the blockade – those who missed weddings and funerals – still see it as a scandalous disgrace and are now feeling the effects of higher taxes and energy spending,” said John Straford, head of the Conservative Democracy Campaign. .
Mr Johnson was also warned that “talks” on whether to step down as prime minister would resume among Conservative MPs once the election is over.
“This is not for today, this is a big decision – important issues for Friday and the weeks after,” Tobias Elwood, a former defense minister, told the BBC.
Electoral guru Sir John Curtis told The Independent that the Conservatives were on track to lose “hundreds” of seats in the first major public opinion test since the party scandal erupted.
However, he pointed out that the looting sites were last contested in 2018, when a Theresa May-led Labor party was 35 per cent – which could limit Sir Keira Starmer’s profits. “This could lead to the loss of the Tories by several hundred places, but it does not necessarily look like a tsunami that threatens to sweep away Mr Johnson from Downing State,” Sir John predicted.
In Westminster, Conservative lawmakers are expected to wait for any additional fines from Partygate, along with Sue Gray’s stalled investigation report, before deciding whether to oppose the prime minister – unless the local election results are disastrous.
On Thursday, the seats of more than 4,000 councilors in 146 councils will be seized in major cities, including Manchester, Birmingham and Leeds, as well as in all 32 London boroughs.
All 32 councils in Scotland and all 22 in Wales will hold elections – as will the Northern Ireland Assembly, where the Sinn Féin nationalist party is ready to secure a historic victory.
During the election campaign, Mr Johnson was embarrassed by his candidates, who called themselves “local conservatives” on election leaflets in London, Birmingham, the south-west and the north-east.
One 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 want the best for Hartlepool.
Angela Raynor, Labor’s deputy leader, said: “It says a lot that Boris Johnson’s own conservative candidates are ashamed to be associated with him and [his] trying to catch the eye of the electorate.
“Without an answer to the cost of living crisis, Tory candidates are trying to hide from their own government’s records.
Two former Conservative councilors have spoken out against their party, urging voters to support opposing candidates in letters published before the election.
In Elbridge, Surrey, Alan Kopitko warned that the party “is not the conservative party I joined”, writing: “In their relentless pursuit of power at all costs, they are spreading lies and misinformation.”
And Barry McLeod-Cullinan, a former deputy leader in Harrow, London, said: “We now know that Boris Johnson has broken the law and lied to Parliament and us many times. He takes us for fools – and we can’t let him get away with it.
Mr Straford said members of his organization’s views suggested that opposition to Mr Johnson had fallen from two-thirds to 50-50, thanks to admiration for the prime minister’s position on Ukraine.
But he warned: “A large number of Tory voters will simply not go out, but they will not vote for Labor or the Liberal Democrats either – which could lead to some strange results in the Red Wall areas.
Ed Davey, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, said that even the crisis at the cost of living had failed to quell discontent with Mr Johnson’s leadership on the brink.
“Some people are really upset by a prime minister who is not a decent person. “People expect the British prime minister to be an honest, law-abiding man,” he told Sky News.
Mr Johnson also doubled his opposition to an unforeseen tax on oil and gas companies, rejecting comments from BP, which said it would not cut its investment plans for the UK.
The Prime Minister insisted that green investments were “a much, much better solution than breaking them up and dissuading them, stopping them from making that investment”.
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