Nigel Huddleston is Co-Chairman of the Conservative Party and MP for Droitwich and Evesham
Today marks just under 100 days until the Local Elections across England in May. This will be the first time that we have faced the ballot box since our defeat at the General Election, and under our new leadership.
We have been doing well in many council by-elections across the country since the General Election, but we should be under no illusion that these Local Elections will be challenging for us. The last time we fought these set of elections in 2021 we performed extremely well, gaining 235 seats and winning 13 councils as well as the historic Hartlepool by-election. Our success was down to several factors – we had won an 80-seat majority in the 2019 General Election, and we were benefitting from a bounce, due in part to our successful rollout of the Covid vaccine.
The political landscape as we go into these elections is very different – the public made it very clear in July last year that they were not happy with us, that we had made mistakes and they wanted change. We are in the process of rebuilding and renewing our Party under the leadership of Kemi Badenoch, and it will take time for us to do that. Winning back the trust of voters will not happen overnight.
Unlike in previous years, we still do not know if all these Local Elections will take place due to the uncertainty caused by the Labour Government’s top-down restructuring of local government. We Conservatives are not comfortable delaying elections. But delays may make logistical and financial sense where a council may soon be abolished – and the Conservative response has been pragmatic, with the best interests of local residents at heart.
Despite the challenges we face, we should not be disheartened, and we are ramping up our campaigning ahead of the 1st May because the change that people voted for with Labour has been disastrous – they have misled the British people about most of their plans, particularly the economic ones, and as a result local communities will suffer.
In the two and a half months Kemi has been Leader of our Party, we have already highlighted Labour’s catastrophic mishandling of the country – we’ve led the charge on the Winter Fuel Payment campaign after Labour cut support for 10 million vulnerable pensioners, we have fought against inheritance tax changes including the shameful Family Farm Tax which puts hardworking farmers and our national food security at risk, we’ve challenged them on their Jobs Tax, and we continue to put pressure on the Labour Government to hold a national inquiry into child grooming gangs despite their protestations.
We may be down, but we are certainly not out. We have much to shout about, particularly when it comes to Conservative Councillors and Mayors. Many of our candidates are well known local champions who have served their communities with distinction for many years and in some cases for decades.
It is Conservatives that deliver better public services, for less money. Just yesterday, the Telegraph reported that the Government’s own data shows that Conservative-led councils are more likely to fix your potholes than Labour-led councils.
Compare this to Labour and the Liberal Democrats – Labour is paving the way for massive council tax rises; £110 on average Band D bills from April. They are also whacking up business rates on pubs, schools and local shops, the bedrock of our communities.
The Lib Dems stand idly by and let Labour get on with this, whilst indulging ridiculous ideological policies such as imposing a four-day week in the councils they run. The Lib Dems are failing to hold Labour to account nationally, and locally will say anything to get elected – often promising one policy in one area and a different one in another.
Reform are not the answer either. Their simple answers to big problems betrays a lack of understanding of the complexities of government. The British public deserve local representatives who truly understand the issues and can deliver on their promises.
This comes with truly understanding your local area and spending time embedded in the community you wish to serve. Nigel Farage seems to spend more time in the US than in Clacton-on-Sea. The job of a councillor is far from glamorous (I know, I was one) it’s about bins and potholes, not grabbing headlines and getting on the telly.
The Conservatives know what it takes to oversee your local services, and we consistently deliver more for less. Many of the upcoming elections are in the Shires and it is the Conservatives and only the Conservatives who understand the countryside and the pleasures and pains of rural life. We respect localism and push back against decisions imposed by ministers and civil servants based in Whitehall.
So how do we work to keep or get Conservatives elected in May?
By doing what so many of you are already doing, but doing it even more – that’s getting out campaigning. Since becoming Co-Chairman I’ve been out and about across the country joining in many campaign sessions and the reception has been pretty positive. But many people don’t yet know that elections are taking place; don’t fully appreciate the good record of local Conservative councils – or our alternative offering in areas we don’t currently control; or they are not yet familiar with the backgrounds of our candidates. Whether online or on the streets, I appeal to everyone to help spread the positive Conservative message.
As loyal Conservative Party members, supporters and activists, we need your help to get our brilliant Conservative Council and Mayoral candidates elected. We have much to prove after the defeat in 2024, but the fightback starts now. We must put the work in to show that the Conservatives can win again, and more importantly we owe it to the British public who have been so badly let down by Labour.
I hope to see you out and about on the campaign trail in the months ahead.
Nigel Huddleston is Co-Chairman of the Conservative Party and MP for Droitwich and Evesham
Today marks just under 100 days until the Local Elections across England in May. This will be the first time that we have faced the ballot box since our defeat at the General Election, and under our new leadership.
We have been doing well in many council by-elections across the country since the General Election, but we should be under no illusion that these Local Elections will be challenging for us. The last time we fought these set of elections in 2021 we performed extremely well, gaining 235 seats and winning 13 councils as well as the historic Hartlepool by-election. Our success was down to several factors – we had won an 80-seat majority in the 2019 General Election, and we were benefitting from a bounce, due in part to our successful rollout of the Covid vaccine.
The political landscape as we go into these elections is very different – the public made it very clear in July last year that they were not happy with us, that we had made mistakes and they wanted change. We are in the process of rebuilding and renewing our Party under the leadership of Kemi Badenoch, and it will take time for us to do that. Winning back the trust of voters will not happen overnight.
Unlike in previous years, we still do not know if all these Local Elections will take place due to the uncertainty caused by the Labour Government’s top-down restructuring of local government. We Conservatives are not comfortable delaying elections. But delays may make logistical and financial sense where a council may soon be abolished – and the Conservative response has been pragmatic, with the best interests of local residents at heart.
Despite the challenges we face, we should not be disheartened, and we are ramping up our campaigning ahead of the 1st May because the change that people voted for with Labour has been disastrous – they have misled the British people about most of their plans, particularly the economic ones, and as a result local communities will suffer.
In the two and a half months Kemi has been Leader of our Party, we have already highlighted Labour’s catastrophic mishandling of the country – we’ve led the charge on the Winter Fuel Payment campaign after Labour cut support for 10 million vulnerable pensioners, we have fought against inheritance tax changes including the shameful Family Farm Tax which puts hardworking farmers and our national food security at risk, we’ve challenged them on their Jobs Tax, and we continue to put pressure on the Labour Government to hold a national inquiry into child grooming gangs despite their protestations.
We may be down, but we are certainly not out. We have much to shout about, particularly when it comes to Conservative Councillors and Mayors. Many of our candidates are well known local champions who have served their communities with distinction for many years and in some cases for decades.
It is Conservatives that deliver better public services, for less money. Just yesterday, the Telegraph reported that the Government’s own data shows that Conservative-led councils are more likely to fix your potholes than Labour-led councils.
Compare this to Labour and the Liberal Democrats – Labour is paving the way for massive council tax rises; £110 on average Band D bills from April. They are also whacking up business rates on pubs, schools and local shops, the bedrock of our communities.
The Lib Dems stand idly by and let Labour get on with this, whilst indulging ridiculous ideological policies such as imposing a four-day week in the councils they run. The Lib Dems are failing to hold Labour to account nationally, and locally will say anything to get elected – often promising one policy in one area and a different one in another.
Reform are not the answer either. Their simple answers to big problems betrays a lack of understanding of the complexities of government. The British public deserve local representatives who truly understand the issues and can deliver on their promises.
This comes with truly understanding your local area and spending time embedded in the community you wish to serve. Nigel Farage seems to spend more time in the US than in Clacton-on-Sea. The job of a councillor is far from glamorous (I know, I was one) it’s about bins and potholes, not grabbing headlines and getting on the telly.
The Conservatives know what it takes to oversee your local services, and we consistently deliver more for less. Many of the upcoming elections are in the Shires and it is the Conservatives and only the Conservatives who understand the countryside and the pleasures and pains of rural life. We respect localism and push back against decisions imposed by ministers and civil servants based in Whitehall.
So how do we work to keep or get Conservatives elected in May?
By doing what so many of you are already doing, but doing it even more – that’s getting out campaigning. Since becoming Co-Chairman I’ve been out and about across the country joining in many campaign sessions and the reception has been pretty positive. But many people don’t yet know that elections are taking place; don’t fully appreciate the good record of local Conservative councils – or our alternative offering in areas we don’t currently control; or they are not yet familiar with the backgrounds of our candidates. Whether online or on the streets, I appeal to everyone to help spread the positive Conservative message.
As loyal Conservative Party members, supporters and activists, we need your help to get our brilliant Conservative Council and Mayoral candidates elected. We have much to prove after the defeat in 2024, but the fightback starts now. We must put the work in to show that the Conservatives can win again, and more importantly we owe it to the British public who have been so badly let down by Labour.
I hope to see you out and about on the campaign trail in the months ahead.