Keir Starmer’s team senses that the partygate scandal is wrecking the Tories’ standing as the party of law and order
Labour will put the fight against crime at the heart of its campaign for May’s local elections amid signs that the scandal enveloping Boris Johnson over alleged lockdown-busting gatherings in Downing Street is badly damaging the Tories’ reputation as the party of law and order.
The move by Keir Starmer’s party comes as Conservative MPs say they are being told by local councillors and constituency associations that they don’t want the prime minister to go on the campaign trail or appear on party literature before the polls on 5 May because the issue of rule-breaking parties inside No 10 is so toxic.
One Tory MP told the Observer: “My association members told me it would be better if the PM stayed away and that they wanted it to be all about local people campaigning on local issues. They think our only chance of doing OK is to keep those associated with partygate out of sight altogether.”
Last week – in a sign that Johnson is seen by Tory strategists as more of an election liability than an asset – the Conservatives put out a party political broadcast that made no mention of him at all, referring only to what it claimed was a list of the government’s achievements, such as the vaccine programme.
Labour, however, is determined to remind people of Johnson’s part in the scandal, and highlight the questions that the controversy raises about respect for the law and...
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