London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Oct 22, 2025

‘It doesn’t matter who takes over’: Cheltenham unswayed by Tory leadership race

‘It doesn’t matter who takes over’: Cheltenham unswayed by Tory leadership race

Locals say voters disillusioned by Boris Johnson are unlikely to be won back by new leader

With its neat roads of Regency houses and bustling town centre, Cheltenham might not seem the obvious place where the Conservative leadership candidates should worry overly about the cost of living. But for Lynn, a 63-year-old local woman, the crisis is very real.

The former fishmonger, who is looking for new work, said she plans to “near enough” switch off her gas central heating for the entire winter, something only possible because her husband, who was disabled, died two years ago.

“He had to keep warm, but I can just sit there with a blanket over me,” she said, escaping the 34C heat on a shady bench equidistant from the middle class high street trinity of John Lewis, M&S and Pret a Manger. “It’ll be like going back to the 1940s. If he was still alive, I would be totally bankrupt.”

Asked for her thoughts on Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak, who were facing off in a hustings event at the town’s racecourse that evening, Lynn replied with a bitter laugh: “It doesn’t matter who takes over. The Conservative party has been too damaged by Boris Johnson – and they all just went along with it.”

For all the focus on red wall seats like Darlington, where the contenders held their last hustings, on Tuesday, it is arguably places like Cheltenham that should exercise Conservative minds just as much.

In 2019, the incumbent Tory MP, the former solicitor general Alex Chalk, held off the Liberal Democrats by just 981 votes, and one local Conservative conceded they expect to lose the seat by 5,000-plus votes next time.

Cheltenham, like other so-called blue wall seats where the Lib Dems are busy hoovering up the support of more moderate former Tory voters disillusioned with Johnson, is particularly pertinent given how Truss and Sunak have tacked even further towards hard-right populist policies.

Another Tory activist said that while the 500 or so local party members who will help choose the next PM are receptive to talk of tax cuts, culture wars and curbs on immigration, most voters feel differently.

“My guess is Truss is ahead here, though only slightly,” they said. “But I think we’re in big trouble whoever takes over. It’s all feeling very 1997 – death by a thousand cuts.”

Sitting in a town centre pub converted from an imposing former courthouse, Max Wilkinson, a local Liberal Democrat councillor who competed against Chalk in 2019 and will also fight the next election, says the imminent change of leader has not overly changed voter sentiment.

Max Wilkinson says the leadership contest is taking place in a ‘totally parallel universe’ to that experienced by most locals.


“Since they deposed Johnson, nothing has changed on the doorstep,” he said. “Johnson was driving people away, but it’s the failures over areas like the NHS and the cost of living that is enduring.”

Wilkinson says he expects Truss to win, and also to prove toxic to local voters, especially if she, as hinted, pushes to shut down an investigation into whether Johnson misled parliament in claiming he knew nothing about lockdown-breaking parties.

The leadership contest, Wilkinson argues, is taking place in a “totally parallel universe” to that experienced by most locals: “Conservative voters and Conservative members are extremely different people. This is a problem for the party. They haven’t really grasped that the people they need to retain are just interested in other stuff.”

Back in the sweltering high street opinion is inevitably more mixed. Olga Campbell, originally from Lviv in Ukraine but who has lived in the town for two decades, was so enamoured with Johnson’s support for her homeland that in last May’s local election she voted for the very first time.

“For 20 years I ignored politics, but when I saw what Boris Johnson did, me and my son both went and voted Conservative,” the 44-year-old stylist said, saying she was “very sad” he had been ousted.

Olga Campbell, originally from Lviv, was greatly appreciative of the help Boris Johnson leant to Ukraine.


“For me, he represents the English people. He’s honest. From my experience, the English sometimes don’t like that frank way of speaking. But he’s straightforward, he says what he thinks. And I love people like that. In some ways I’m like that, too.”

In contrast, David Bartlett, a 49-year-old banker who describes himself as “a massive swing voter – I’ve voted Labour, Lib Dem, Tory and Green” – says he has now turned permanently from the Conservatives. He said: “I was so appalled by Boris Johnson I’ve even stepped back from following the leadership contest.”

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Apple Challenges EU Digital Markets Act Crackdown in Landmark Court Battle
Nicolas Sarkozy begins five-year prison term at La Santé in Paris
Japan stocks surge to record as Sanae Takaichi becomes Prime Minister
This Is How the 'Heist of the Century' Was Carried Out at the Louvre in Seven Minutes: France Humiliated as Crown with 2,000 Diamonds Vanishes
China Warns UK of ‘Consequences’ After Delay to London Embassy Approval
France’s Wealthy Shift Billions to Luxembourg and Switzerland Amid Tax and Political Turmoil
"Sniper Position": Observation Post Targeting 'Air Force One' Found Before Trump’s Arrival in Florida
Shouting Match at the White House: 'Trump Cursed, Threw Maps, and Told Zelensky – "Putin Will Destroy You"'
Windows’ Own ‘Siri’ Has Arrived: You Can Now Talk to Your Computer
Thailand and Singapore Investigate Cambodian-Based Prince Group as U.S. and U.K. Sanctions Unfold
‘No Kings’ Protests Inflate Numbers — But History Shows Nations Collapse Without Strong Executive Power
Chinese Tech Giants Halt Stablecoin Launches After Beijing’s Regulatory Intervention
Manhattan Jury Holds BNP Paribas Liable for Enabling Sudanese Government Abuses
Trump Orders Immediate Release of Former Congressman George Santos After Commuting Prison Sentence
S&P Downgrades France’s Credit Rating, Citing Soaring Debt and Political Instability
Ofcom Rules BBC’s Gaza Documentary ‘Materially Misleading’ Over Narrator’s Hamas Ties
Diane Keaton’s Cause of Death Revealed as Pneumonia, Family Confirms
Former Lostprophets Frontman Ian Watkins Stabbed to Death in British Prison
"The Tsunami Is Coming, and It’s Massive": The World’s Richest Man Unveils a New AI Vision
Outsider, Heroine, Trailblazer: Diane Keaton Was Always a Little Strange — and Forever One of a Kind
Dramatic Development in the Death of 'Mango' Founder: Billionaire's Son Suspected of Murder
Two Years of Darkness: The Harrowing Testimonies of Israeli Hostages Emerging From Gaza Captivity
EU Moves to Use Frozen Russian Assets to Buy U.S. Weapons for Ukraine
Europe Emerges as the Biggest Casualty in U.S.-China Rare Earth Rivalry
HSBC Confronts Strategic Crossroads as NAB Seeks Only Retail Arm in Australia Exit
U.S. Chamber Sues Trump Over $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Shenzhen Expo Spotlights China’s Quantum Step in Semiconductor Self-Reliance
China Accelerates to the Forefront in Global Nuclear Fusion Race
Yachts, Private Jets, and a Picasso Painting: Exposed as 'One of the Largest Frauds in History'
Australia’s Wedgetail Spies Aid NATO Response as Russian MiGs Breach Estonian Airspace
McGowan Urges Chalmers to Cut Spending Over Tax Hike to Close $20 Billion Budget Gap
Victoria Orders Review of Transgender Prison Placement Amid Safety Concerns for Female Inmates
U.S. Treasury Mobilises New $20 Billion Debt Facility to Stabilise Argentina
French Business Leaders Decry Budget as Macron’s Pro-Enterprise Promise Undermined
Trump Claims Modi Pledged India Would End Russian Oil Imports Amid U.S. Tariff Pressure
Surging AI Startup Valuations Fuel Bubble Concerns Among Top Investors
Australian Punter Archie Wilson Tears Up During Nebraska Press Conference, Sparking Conversation on Male Vulnerability
Australia Confirms U.S. Access to Upgraded Submarine Shipyard Under AUKUS Deal
“Firepower” Promised for Ukraine as NATO Ministers Meet — But U.S. Tomahawks Remain Undecided
Brands Confront New Dilemma as Extremists Adopt Fashion Labels
The Sydney Sweeney and Jeans Storm: “The Outcome Surpassed Our Wildest Dreams”
Erika Kirk Delivers Moving Tribute at White House as Trump Awards Charlie Presidential Medal of Freedom
British Food Influencer ‘Big John’ Detained in Australia After Visa Dispute
ScamBodia: The Chinese Fraud Empire Shielded by Cambodia’s Ruling Elite
French PM Suspends Macron’s Pension Reform Until After 2027 in Bid to Stabilize Government
Orange, Bouygues and Free Make €17 Billion Bid for Drahi’s Altice France Telecom Assets
Dutch Government Seizes Chipmaker After U.S. Presses for Removal of Chinese CEO
Bessent Accuses China of Dragging Down Global Economy Amid New Trade Curbs
U.S. Revokes Visas of Foreign Nationals Who ‘Celebrated’ Charlie Kirk’s Assassination
AI and Cybersecurity at Forefront as GITEX Global 2025 Kicks Off in Dubai
×