Wandsworth, in London, is by most accounts a model Conservative council. Band D council tax is £866 in the borough, compared to £1,660 in neighbouring Labour-run Lambeth. It is committed to fiscal rectitude, residents largely express satisfaction with its services, and they have consistently voted Tory even as the party’s broader fortunes have ebbed and flowed in the capital.
In today’s local elections, however, some Conservatives fear that that winning streak may come to an end. A council that pioneered the application of Thatcherite principles to local administration may be ejected from power because of the record of a Tory Government that has championed policies more redolent of high-tax, socialist Lambeth.
In council elections, campaigners often express frustration that their records are neglected by voters who wish to punish a party for its national sins. Today’s vote is unlikely to be any different – with the electorate expected to deliver a verdict not solely on local services, but on the partygate saga and the Government’s hapless handling of the cost of living squeeze.
According to some forecasts, the Conservative Party may face its most serious losses in the so-called blue wall – traditional Tory areas that have, in recent years, begun to shift away from the party. Some attribute this to demographic change and highly local rows over issues such as new housing development, but that is surely only part of it.
The Government has almost nothing to offer the aspirational voters who were for many years the bedrock of the Tories’ support. It has been left marooned with an increase in National Insurance contributions designed to fund an unreformed health service that seems incapable of delivering for the public. It rarely seeks to apply Conservative principles to problems such as the unacceptably high cost of energy. Instead, it flirts with Left-wing ideas such as windfall taxes, thereby eroding the Tories’ distinctive offer to the electorate.
Conservative councillors should not have to pay the price for the Government’s drift. By and large, Tory councils are better run than their Labour equivalents and levy lower rates of council tax. Like Wandsworth, they recognise that good housekeeping, competence, and consistency can have an enduring appeal. If only the party in Westminster could say the same.
Wandsworth, in London, is by most accounts a model Conservative council. Band D council tax is £866 in the borough, compared to £1,660 in neighbouring Labour-run Lambeth. It is committed to fiscal rectitude, residents largely express satisfaction with its services, and they have consistently voted Tory even as the party’s broader fortunes have ebbed and flowed in the capital.
In today’s local elections, however, some Conservatives fear that that winning streak may come to an end. A council that pioneered the application of Thatcherite principles to local administration may be ejected from power because of the record of a Tory Government that has championed policies more redolent of high-tax, socialist Lambeth.
In council elections, campaigners often express frustration that their records are neglected by voters who wish to punish a party for its national sins. Today’s vote is unlikely to be any different – with the electorate expected to deliver a verdict not solely on local services, but on the partygate saga and the Government’s hapless handling of the cost of living squeeze.
According to some forecasts, the Conservative Party may face its most serious losses in the so-called blue wall – traditional Tory areas that have, in recent years, begun to shift away from the party. Some attribute this to demographic change and highly local rows over issues such as new housing development, but that is surely only part of it.
The Government has almost nothing to offer the aspirational voters who were for many years the bedrock of the Tories’ support. It has been left marooned with an increase in National Insurance contributions designed to fund an unreformed health service that seems incapable of delivering for the public. It rarely seeks to apply Conservative principles to problems such as the unacceptably high cost of energy. Instead, it flirts with Left-wing ideas such as windfall taxes, thereby eroding the Tories’ distinctive offer to the electorate.
Conservative councillors should not have to pay the price for the Government’s drift. By and large, Tory councils are better run than their Labour equivalents and levy lower rates of council tax. Like Wandsworth, they recognise that good housekeeping, competence, and consistency can have an enduring appeal. If only the party in Westminster could say the same.