Matt.GC
TS Member
As the polls open today for numerous council seats in England, Police and Crime Commissioners, and some Regional Mayors, this is likely to be the last big electoral test for Sunak before a General Election.
I personally think that it's quite sad that Westminster politics dominates so many decisions at these kinds of elections. I've known councillors and it's often quite a thankless job where any good work you put it can often be ignored in favour of national politics. I also emailed all 4 of my PCC candidates (no mayoral or local elections here) with some serious issues about how I felt our local force is letting me and people I work with down, and only the Conservative incumbent bothered to respond and was actually quite attentive. The rest just have "vote for me because I'm not a Tory" and questionable guff about "we'll put X number of police on the beat" kind of stuff without actually setting out the detailed policy information I was looking for. Very disappointing.
Interestingly, Andy Street and Ben Houchen seem to be purposely avoiding connections with the governing party they members of and have enlisted Boris Johnson to endorse them! Johnson has backed the candidates by appealing for voters to "forget" about the government when making their decision today. I've been on Street's website and there's no reference to Sunak, he's clearly distancing himself from mentioning that he's a Conservative, and he's adopted the colour green instead of Tory blue.
news.sky.com
www.theguardian.com
www.huffingtonpost.co.uk
Tomorrow's results will be interesting with a national poll merely months away. I think talk about leadership challenges is nonsense, and I don't think we'll see a General Election called before the autumn or very late summer at the very least. But it could put Sunak under pressure to rip the plaster off quicker if hanging on is doing the wider party more damage, with defections, step downs and active distancing becoming rife.
I personally think that it's quite sad that Westminster politics dominates so many decisions at these kinds of elections. I've known councillors and it's often quite a thankless job where any good work you put it can often be ignored in favour of national politics. I also emailed all 4 of my PCC candidates (no mayoral or local elections here) with some serious issues about how I felt our local force is letting me and people I work with down, and only the Conservative incumbent bothered to respond and was actually quite attentive. The rest just have "vote for me because I'm not a Tory" and questionable guff about "we'll put X number of police on the beat" kind of stuff without actually setting out the detailed policy information I was looking for. Very disappointing.
Interestingly, Andy Street and Ben Houchen seem to be purposely avoiding connections with the governing party they members of and have enlisted Boris Johnson to endorse them! Johnson has backed the candidates by appealing for voters to "forget" about the government when making their decision today. I've been on Street's website and there's no reference to Sunak, he's clearly distancing himself from mentioning that he's a Conservative, and he's adopted the colour green instead of Tory blue.
Boris Johnson tells voters to 'forget about the government'
The campaign team for the Tory mayor of the West Midlands is sending out literature with pictures of him and the former prime minister.
Andy Street and Ben Houchen turn to Boris Johnson in mayoral election run-in
Incumbents promote messages of support from ex-PM despite largely avoiding linking themselves with wider Tory party
How Tory Mayors Are Pretending Not To Be Tories In A Desperate Bid To Avoid Defeat
Ben Houchen and Andy Street have distanced themselves from Rishi Sunak's toxic record.
Tomorrow's results will be interesting with a national poll merely months away. I think talk about leadership challenges is nonsense, and I don't think we'll see a General Election called before the autumn or very late summer at the very least. But it could put Sunak under pressure to rip the plaster off quicker if hanging on is doing the wider party more damage, with defections, step downs and active distancing becoming rife.
