London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Jul 10, 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
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
NVIDIA Achieves Historic Milestone as First Company Valued at $4 Trillion
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Linda Yaccarino Steps Down as CEO of X After Two Years
US Imposes New Tariffs on Brazilian Exports Amid Political Tensions
Azerbaijan and Armenia are on the brink of a historic peace deal.
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Weinstein Victim’s Lawyer Says MeToo Movement Still Strong
U.S. Enacts Sweeping Tax and Spending Legislation Amid Trade Policy Shifts
Football Mourns as Diogo Jota and Brother André Silva Laid to Rest in Portugal
Labour Expected to Withdraw Support for Special Needs Funding Model
Leaked Audio Reveals Tory Aide Defending DEI Record
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
London Stock Exchange Faces Historic Low in Initial Public Offerings
A new online platform has emerged in the United Kingdom, specifically targeting Muslim men seeking virgin brides
Trump Celebrates Independence Day with B-2 Flyover and Signs Controversial Legislation
Boris Johnson Urges Conservatives to Ignore Farage
SNP Ordered to Update Single-Sex Space Guidance Within Days
Starmer Set to Reject Calls for Wealth Taxes
Stolen Century-Old Rolls-Royce Recovered After Hotel Theft
Macron Presses Starmer to Recognise Palestinian State
Labour Delayed Palestine Action Ban Over Riot Concerns
Swinney’s Tax Comments ‘Offensive to Scots’, Say Tories
High Street Retailers to Enforce Bans on Serial Shoplifters
Music Banned by Henry VIII to Be Performed After 500 Years
Steve Coogan Says Working Class Is Being ‘Ethnically Cleansed’
Home Office Admits Uncertainty Over Visa Overstayer Numbers
JD Vance Questions Mandelson Over Reform Party’s Rising Popularity
Macron to Receive Windsor Carriage Ride in Royal Gesture
Labour Accused of ‘Hammering’ Scots During First Year in Power
BBC Head of Music Stood Down Amid Bob Vylan Controversy
Corbyn Eyes Hard-Left Challenge to Starmer’s Leadership
London Tube Trains Suspended After Major Fire Erupts Nearby
Richard Kemp: I Felt Safer in Israel Under Attack Than in the UK
Cyclist Says Police Cited Human Rights Act for Riding No-Handed
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Musk Battles to Protect Tesla Amid Trump Policy Threats
Air France-KLM Acquires Majority Stake in Scandinavian Airlines
UK Educators Sound Alarm on Declining Child Literacy
Shein Fined €40 Million in France Over Misleading Discounts
Brazil’s Lula Visits Kirchner During Argentina House Arrest
Trump Scores Legislative Win as House Passes Tax Reform Bill
Keir Starmer Faces Criticism After Rocky First Year in Power
DJI Launches Heavy-Duty Coaxial Quadcopter with 80 kg Lift Capacity
U.S. Senate Approves Major Legislation Dubbed the 'Big Beautiful Bill'
Largest Healthcare Fraud Takedown in U.S. History Announced by DOJ
×