To Barnet, where a council by-election will take place on Thursday. Former councillor Joshua Conway lost his Hendon ward seat after a change of jobs made him ineligible to serve on the council. Six candidates are in the running for the council seat – but the contest is shaping up to be a two-horse race between the Conservatives and Reform. But Mr S has noticed some rather curious goings-on in the former Tory safe seat…
It would appear that the Conservatives are funnelling resource after resource into the council by-election campaign in the form of, er, very senior politicians. Not only has the party bussed in swathes of activists, Tory chairman Kevin Hollinrake, shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick and even party leader Kemi Badenoch have all traipsed around Barnet on the campaign trail. It’s quite something for a local by-election in what was once a Conservative safe seat. How curious…
The Reform candidate doesn’t seem to have received quite as much attention from his party leadership, who are busy holding press conferences in central London. Perhaps he doesn’t need it: Nigel Farage’s party emerged victorious from the local elections in May, winning more than four in ten of the seats up for election, while the Tories lost control of 16 councils in England. More recent polling suggests just 17 per cent of Brits back the Conservatives – with Reform a whole ten points clear of the former party of government. Will Kemi’s kitchen sink approach save the party’s Hendon seat? Stay tuned…
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