Tamworth is perhaps best known for producing the Reliant Robin, a three-wheeled car both gently mocked and admired by the British public. Until recently, Boris Johnson held a similar position in the public mind, but the feeling in the Staffordshire town on Wednesday was that the wheels might finally, if stubbornly, be coming off.
In the spotlight after their MP resigned in disgrace as deputy chief whip last week, the constituency’s residents appear to have had enough of Chris Pincher and the Prime Minister.
“Boris Johnson just needs to go,” said Tayla Pownall, 20, who works in a takeaway. As for Pincher, who remains the city’s MP, he said: “It doesn’t look good. Tamworth gets a bad rap, but that only makes it worse.”
Emily Turner, 24, a sales manager, went further. “I think Pincher is disgusting. They are all the same. Old white men. They have the right to do whatever they want. He must be judged; he should definitely not be a member of parliament.
Some local councilors privately agree that Pincher’s days are numbered, but none would go on the record. “We have been told in no uncertain terms by the local Conservative Association that we must not speak to the media if we want to keep our jobs,” said one.
But they were obviously furious. “It’s a complete and utter mess. The fact that Chris Pincher is still in office is depressing,” they said. “As for him being backed by Boris and lying through his teeth saying he doesn’t know what’s going on, that just takes away from the hard work of an awful lot of party members, MPs and councilors across the country and puts everyone in a bad light glory.” Both Pincher and Johnson should go, the adviser said.
The same source said Tamworth Conservatives are divided over Pincher “between those who support him and would consider him a really good friend and feel that ‘everyone is innocent until proven guilty’ and there’s the other end on the spectrum that says “I never want to see him again.”
Tamworth has been Conservative since 2010, when Pincher was elected after holding the seat for Labor for 13 years.
Jo Elyafi, 46, had contact with Pincher in the past when her son was undergoing cancer treatment. “We asked him for help with the disability benefits my son was entitled to. He ignored the messages I had sent through Facebook for over a week. When I wrote to him, he sent a really pompous reply that I had already replied to you. He did a week later.
Joe Eliafi. Photo: Andrew Fox/The Guardian
Elyafi’s anger spans the entire Tory party. “I don’t like any of the Tories, they are a cesspool. Boris Johnson is a disgrace,” she said. In the past she voted Labor under Jeremy Corbyn. “Corbyn was a fair man who was true to himself. Keir Starmer is not the same. He tries to play along with what will earn him points. He tries to be something he thinks other people want. She doesn’t know who she would vote for in a by-election.
Narinder Gohil wants the government to do more for small businesses. Photo: Andrew Fox/The Guardian
Narinder Gohil, 59, who runs a downtown boutique, has voted Conservative in the past, including in 2019. She did so because she thought it was in her best interests as a small business owner. Scandals aside, she thinks the government isn’t doing enough for small businesses. “We are among the small business owners and we are being run over. The tax bracket for businesses should be higher so that we can retain more of our revenue,” Gohil said.
Although she is no fan of the Prime Minister, she does not believe that his removal will magically solve the problems facing the country. “Even if we exclude Boris from the equation, we will remain at a standstill. Whoever we have, I don’t think anyone can do the job right.”
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