It has been half a century since the Conservative Party last controlled the city of Liverpool. Having previously been a stronghold for the Tories in early parts of the 20th century, the last 50 years marked a decline in support for the party, with Margaret Thatcher and her government in the 1980s acting as a lightning rod for dissent.
Such is the volte face in approach towards the Conservative Party in Liverpool, one man said earlier this year that he felt more daunted at expressing his desire to vote Tory than be open with his sexuality. It’s worth remembering Merseyside does have one single Conservative MP - Damien Moore in Southport - and the party has made significant gains in Wirral during this month’s elections.
However, the last Tory member to sit on the red benches at Liverpool Town Hall was given the boot in 1998 and later defected to Labour, as the city has moved between Labour and Liberal Democrat administrations. Since 2010, the Conservatives, initially propped up by the Lib Dems and then as a government of their own, have run the country and have been met with hostility throughout Liverpool.
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Yet the Tory movement is still active in the city, the party stood candidates in each Liverpool constituency in the 2019 general election and challenges for seats on Liverpool Council. As the furore around the Government’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic and alleged parties at Downing Street has angered many across the country, how do the little-heard from band of Conservatives in Liverpool feel about how Boris Johnson is impacting their chances of ever making ground in the city again.
David Jeffery is chair of the City of Liverpool Conservatives. He said: “It feels like it’s never ending.
“Each one of these reports could be the straw that breaks the camel’s back. All it does is undermine confidence in the Conservatives and it is very largely toxic to the party brand.
“Based on results from the last general election, where the Conservatives came second in each Liverpool constituency, there are people out there who would consider voting Conservative and this is just a series of reasons as to why they wouldn’t.”
The much awaited Sue Gray report landed on the Prime Minister’s desk this week, detailing exactly what went on in the alleged parties at Number 10. Mr Jeffery, who has written works on the decline of Conservative support in Liverpool, said it was unlikely Mr Johnson would lead the party into the next general election.
He said: “The longer it goes on, the weaker the party’s position becomes. There’s no way you can draw a line under this, I don’t see how Boris Johnson could carry on and win the next election.
“I don’t see how they do that with him. It’s up to MPs to take a long hard look at who they want to be led by.”
Labour has now been in power in Liverpool as long as it was out of it - 12 years - and has faced a damning spotlight in the last few years, with its former Mayor and Chief Executive being arrested and an expensive energy contract failure befalling the local authority. Mr Jeffery said the continued focus on behaviour at the heart of Whitehall has cost his party the opportunity to make strides to win back support amid supposed Labour weakness.
He said: “There’s nothing very inspiring about the government at the moment and it makes it harder to take the fight to Labour at a local level. Labour isn’t doing well locally at all but all people want to talk about is partygate.
“The boundary changes will change the city and the Conservatives do have voters out there who are currently being ignored. It’s a shame it’s likely the Mayoral role will be done away with as it would have been good to put up an anti-Labour alternative.”
