Facebook ads issued by the Conservatives in Wakefield, where the party is facing another by-election on Thursday, focus on attacking the Labor candidate because he is not a local resident, rather than Tory policies.
Conservative name “toxic” under Boris Johnson
The apparent downgrade of Ms. Harford’s Conservatives’s credentials has led to allegations by opposition parties that the party’s signal had become “toxic” under Johnson’s leadership. A supporter said: “I’ve resigned from branch presidents and newsletter distributors are refusing to come out. People have also told me that they are no longer going to host fundraising events, which is a fundamental problem.” A minister added: “People are not wild at the moment knocking on doors and handing out leaflets. I suspect we are losing members. They are very disappointed.” A third Conservative MP said: “Many of my activists, donors and other people associated with my campaign were very concerned about the events that allegedly took place on Downing Street and the Sue Gray report. “People who have delivered leaflets or donated in the past have backed down or said they are not willing to hand over or donate under the current regime.” Ever since the Conservatives came to power in 2010, lawmakers have generally displayed photos of themselves with the then prime minister, starting with David Cameron. However, the campaign literature that this newspaper saw from both Tiverton and Honiton and Wakefield does not contain such images. Instead, the Liberal Democrats, who are trying to overthrow the 24,239 majority enjoyed by Neil Parish – the Conservative MP who resigned after watching pornography in the House of Commons – used photographs of Mr Johnson in leaflets. The party hopes that dissatisfaction with the government will work in his favor. A Liberal Democrat source said: “Boris Johnson is now so electoral that he has been removed from the Conservative candidate’s leaflets. “It shows that the Conservative brand has become toxic under his leadership.” In an interview with the Telegraph for a documentary on the Wakefield and Tiverton and Honiton by-elections, Ms Hurford said the name “conservatism” did not mean “telling anyone what to do and how to spend their money”.
