In two years Britain’s voters will choose who they want to govern them, and given the events of the past month it is unlikely to be the Conservative Party.
This is not Labour opposition propaganda, but from Tory activists who told The National that they are deeply bruised by the bitterness and toxicity of Boris Johnson’s reign.
There is palpable disgust in the Tonbridge Conservative Association among the stalwarts of arguably England’s bluest heartland. Where the national leadership should bring a sense of renewal, it is instead sowing the seeds of dread for what is to come.
“We're imploding, it’s pure blue on blue,” said long-serving councillor Sarah Hudson.
Members are underwhelmed and angered at being presented with two candidates, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak, both of whom they feel lack the calibre to retain power.
“I wonder whether we've just lost the next election, no matter who wins the leadership,” councillor Piers Montague told The National.
Worse, the usually brutally effective Tory election machine appears vulnerable. “This situation shows us in confusion, without our act together and that's not a good picture,” said association chairman Dennis King, who described Mr Johnson’s departure as an “engineered train crash”.
It is these people, the 160,000 Tory party members who will vote for their new leader next month, who spent hours tramping streets and manning phones that drummed up the 14 million votes that swept Mr Johnson to a landslide victory in 2019.
A repetition of that appears unlikely now. The energy harnessed by Mr Johnson has drained away to be replaced by dismay verging on resentment that the 357 Conservative MPs up the road in Westminster created the mess.
What just happened?
Mr Johnson’s swift demise shocked members. Yes, there were the scandals over lockdown parties in Downing Street, police fines and issues over the truth, but for that to result in a prime minister’s downfall was unexpected.
“They had this great idea to get rid of Boris but no idea to fill the void once he’d gone,” said Ms Hudson, 56, who runs a snooker table refurbishment business. “MPs weren't voting for the betterment of the country, they were simply voting for themselves and who they thought could help them get up the greasy pole.”
Sitting across the table at his bungalow overlooking the swaying stalks of Kent’s wheat crop, Mr King politely waited for his colleague to finish speaking.
“This was an engineered train crash, if you don't mind me saying so,” he said. “Boris was a participant but he also didn't get full credit for the marvellous job that he did during Covid and as a statesman in Ukraine. His positives far outweigh any negatives that he had.”
Mr King, 73, has served the party since he moved from a council house in London’s Docklands, working his way up through British Telecom to become a business manager.
Mr Montague never believed that Mr Johnson “was the right person” for prime minister, suggesting that Labour was “in pieces” under its far-left leader Jeremy Corbyn making the 2019 landslide easily achievable.
The recent loss of the 24,000 majority in the Honiton and Tiverton by-election raised the question of Mr Johnson’s enduring electoral attraction. “If Boris was that great where were all those Boris supporters down in Devon?”
Truss or Sunak?
After five rounds of voting among Westminster MPs, party members are left with a choice between the foreign secretary, Ms Truss, or former chancellor Mr Sunak.
It is not a final pairing that energises Tonbridge’s activists, but who would they vote for anyway? “None of the above, is my tip,” Ms Hudson says.
Instead they discuss the impressive candidates who were eliminated by MPs ― Kemi Badenoch, Tom Tugendhat, who is their local MP, and Penny Mordaunt.
“Somebody like Tom would do a better job of galvanising the non-conservative movement,” Mr Montague said. “I just wonder whether we've just lost the next election, almost no matter what now,” he said.
While Ms Hudson did not want either candidate, after meeting Ms Truss at a hustings last weekend “she did say some things that appealed to me … or the things I wanted to hear”.
She wanted the candidates to name their Cabinet, suggesting a clear-out rather than the old regime, with “fresh blood” needed to make an impression and get experience in the next two years “before they’re out”.
Mr King is also undecided but believes that Mr Sunak’s experience on the economy makes him the better leader. “Rishi’s got an understanding of the financial and fiscal mechanisms. He understands the consequences of making promises and I think what would appeal to the British people is someone talking straight.”
Either candidate was “going to have a very tough time” in the run-up to the probable 2024 election given the financial pressures the population faces, Mr Montague said.
On that basis, he was less enamoured with the idea of Mr Sunak, a multimillionaire, attracting votes and whether he could “look me in the eye and say ‘cost of living ― I feel your pain’”.
“I just don't know whether this is the time to put the 222nd richest person in the country in charge of the party.” Reluctantly, he might plump for Ms Truss, he said, “but she wouldn’t be my first choice”.
Bring back Boris
Lamenting the demise of Mr Johnson has been a growing theme since the underwhelming televised debates between the candidates.
A “Bring Back Boris” campaign has allegedly attracted 10,000 members’ signatures. But none, it seems, in Tonbridge.
“No, we are where we are,” said Mr King before Ms Hudson interjected: “We've moved on.”
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Boris Johnson became UK prime minister in July 2019, left, and resigned three years later in July 2022, right. Here 'The National' looks back at his colourful time as leader of the country. Getty Images / Reuters -
Boris Johnson reads a statement outside 10 Downing Street, formally resigning as Conservative Party leader. PA -
Boris Johnson and his wife Carrie Johnson attend the National Service of Thanksgiving to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth at St Paul's Cathedral in June 2022. Getty Images -
Boris Johnson addresses the media after surviving a confidence vote in his leadership, in June 2022. PA -
Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the 1922 Committee of Tory backbenchers, announcing that Mr Johnson had survived a confidence vote in his leadership at the Houses of Parliament in June. PA -
Mr Johnson chats with residents in a Diamond Jubilee-themed room as he makes a constituency visit to Sweetcroft care home in Uxbridge, in May 2022. Getty Images -
Boris Johnson reads the findings of the Sue Gray report into gatherings on government premises while Covid-19 restrictions were in place, in his office in No 10, Downing Street in May 2022. Photo: Downing Street -
An image of a gathering in the Cabinet Room in No 10, Downing Street in June 2020 on the prime minister's birthday was released alongside the Sue Gray report. Photo: Cabinet Office -
Boris Johnson with a Mark 3 shoulder launch missile system at Thales weapons manufacturer during a visit to Northern Ireland for talks, in May 2022 in Belfast. Getty Images -
Mr Johnson having a turban placed on his head at Gujarat Bio Technology University, during his two-day trip to India in April. Getty Images -
Mr Johnson after apologising to MPs for the 'partygate' fine he had received, in the House of Commons in April. AFP -
Mr Johnson and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy walking in central Kyiv, in April. AFP -
Mr Johnson arrives for a media interview at the Emirates Palace hotel in Abu Dhabi, in March 2022. Getty Images -
Mr Johnson speaks with officers as he makes a constituency visit to Uxbridge police station in December 2021. Getty Images -
Mr Johnson observes an early morning Merseyside Police raid on a home in Liverpool as part of 'Operation Toxic' to infiltrate county lines drug dealings in December 2021. Getty Images -
Boris Johnson during a visit to Westport Care Home in Stepney Green, ahead of unveiling his long-awaited plan to fix the social care system, in September 2021. Getty Images -
Prince Charles looks on as Boris Johnson attempts to open his umbrella at the National Memorial Arboretum in Stafford, in July 2021. Getty Images -
President of the European Council Charles Michel, US President Joe Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, Mr Johnson and Italian PM Mario Draghi pose for the leaders' official photo during the G7 summit in Cornwall, in June 2021. Getty Images -
Mr Johnson poses with his wife Carrie in the garden of No 10, Downing Street following their wedding at Westminster Cathedral, in May 2021. Getty Images -
Mr Johnson visits Hartlepool after the Conservative Party candidate Jill Mortimer won the Hartlepool by-election in May 2021. Getty Images -
Mr Johnson receives his first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine at St. Thomas' Hospital in London, in March 2021. Getty Images -
Mr Johnson smiles during a televised press conference at No 10, Downing Street in February 2021, as he announces a phased exit from the country's lockdown measures. Getty Images -
Mr Johnson gives a thumbs-up gesture after signing the Brexit trade deal with the EU in No 10, Downing Street, in December 2020. Getty Images -
Mr Johnson and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen meet for a dinner to try to reach a breakthrough on a post-Brexit trade deal, in December 2020 in Brussels. Getty Images -
Mr Johnson with a vial of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 candidate vaccine, known as AZD1222, at Wockhardt's pharmaceutical manufacturing facility, in November 2020, in Wrexham, Wales. Getty Images -
Mr Johnson drills during his visit to Exeter College in September 2020. Getty Images -
Mr Johnson holds crabs caught on the Carvela at Stromness Harbour in July 2020, during a visit to Scotland. Getty Images -
Mr Johnson holds a painting of a ladybird during a visit to The Discovery School in West Malling, in July 2020. Getty Images -
Mr Johnson and his fiancée Carrie Symonds applaud for key workers outside No 10, Downing Street, in May 2020. Getty Images -
Boris Johnson appears on monitors for a meeting in London. The prime minister chaired the morning update meeting remotely as he was self-isolating after testing positive for Covid-19. Reuters -
Boris Johnson makes a televised address to the nation from inside No 10, Downing Street, with the latest instructions to stay at home to help contain the Covid-19 pandemic, in March 2020. AFP -
Mr Johnson attends the launch of the UK-hosted COP26 Summit at the Science Museum in London, in February 2020. Getty Images -
Mr Johnson is greeted by staff at No 10, Downing Street, after meeting Queen Elizabeth II and accepting her invitation to form a new government in December 2019. PA -
Mr Johnson and his partner Carrie enter Downing Street as the Conservatives celebrate a sweeping election victory in December 2019. Getty Images -
Mr Johnson drives a digger with the words 'Get Brexit Done' inside the digger bucket through a fake wall emblazoned with the word 'GRIDLOCK', during a general election campaign event in December 2019. Getty Images -
Mr Johnson eats pie on the campaign bus in Derby, on the final day of campaigning before the general election in December 2019. Getty Images -
Mr Johnson takes a turn in goal during the warm up before a girls' football match between Hazel Grove United JFC and Poynton Juniors in December 2019. Getty Images -
Mr Johnson poses with workers as he is given a tour of Wilton Engineering Services as part of an election campaign trail stop in November 2019, in Middlesbrough. Getty Images -
Mr Johnson poses for a photo wearing boxing gloves during a stop on his general election campaign trail in Manchester, in November 2019. Getty Images -
Mr Johnson eats a rock sweet which reads 'Back Boris' during a general election campaign trail stop in Blackpool, in November 2019. Getty Images -
Mr Johnson leads a bull around a pen as he visits Darnford Farm near Aberdeen, Scotland, in September 2019. Getty Images -
Former US president Donald Trump and Mr Johnson arrive for a bilateral meeting during the G7 summit in August 2019, in Biarritz, France. Getty Images -
Queen Elizabeth welcomes Mr Johnson as the newly elected leader of the Conservative party and invites him to become prime minister and form a new government, at Buckingham Palace in July 2019. Getty Images
Even though she was a Boris loyalist, “we can't go back”, she said.
“I was devastated for Boris, I was in mourning when he resigned,” she said. “I've been out there for the last God knows how many years knocking on doors asking for support.”
Mr Montague gives the idea short shrift. “Boris lied constantly. He thinks the rules are for everybody else. He governs by right rather than merit. And with his rather slow exit from No 10, the talk of a comeback shows that he still genuinely doesn't get it. It's almost a madness.”
A job for a vote
Mr Montague, 49, a marketing operational manager, suggests there were dark motivations behind the final candidate selection.
“They’re certainly not the most two most popular candidates to present to the country to win the next election,” he said. “I'm not close to the Westminster machine but the only reason I can think of an MP wanting to support a candidate who they know is actually going to do worse for them in the election is that they've been promised a job for the next two years and then they'll swing off and come work for an investment bank."
Ethnic minority
One silver lining is the number of female candidates or from an ethnic minority background who reached the last eight contenders.
“I don't think anybody would have predicted that but it’s full credit to the party,” Mr Montague said. “David Cameron did an awful lot of work in broadening the theme of the Conservative Party, which is where we have to go because youngsters are not going to vote Conservative if we are seen as the party of white, middle-aged men.”
Mr King describes Britain as a “brilliant country, easy going”. He said: “You might notice what kind of skin I have like you might notice the fact I've got no hair, but we give people the benefit of the doubt. I think Kemi Badenoch really impressed, so it’s brilliant that people like her can come to the fore.”
He is also optimistic about the Conservative's future once the leadership race has completed. "We do have strong candidates to choose from who are explaining their approaches to tackling the inflation arising from the pandemic, the war and global supply issues."
“I'm blind to it all,” Ms Hudson said in reference to skin colour. “I simply want to listen to the policies that they're talking about and what came over clearly in all of the candidates is that they're incredibly intelligent.”
What now?
With disillusioned and disgruntled supporters, there will be little fanfare or goodwill for the next Conservative leader.
“But we will get through this,” Mr King said. “We have to say that the Conservative brand is what will give you continuity, that most people in this country are definitely Conservative and we have to remind them of that.”
Mr Montague was less bullish. “It will be a horrible time to be to be prime minister, they are not going to have an easy ride.”
UK Conservatives on the leadership campaign trail - in pictures
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Candidates Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss at the Conservative Party leadership election hustings at Wembley Arena, London. This was the final hustings attended by Tory Party members who will vote for the new leader and next prime minister. EPA -
Liz Truss addresses Conservative Party members at Wembley Arena. AP -
Mr Sunak puts forward his case to be leader while speaking at Wembley Arena. Bloomberg -
Mr Sunak visits his family's old business, Bassett Pharmacy in Southampton, while on the campaign trail. Reuters -
Ms Truss speaks to staff at Condimentum Ltd at the Food Enterprise Park in Norwich. Getty Images -
A Rishi Sunak supporter at a hustings event in Norfolk. PA -
Mr Sunak greets people at a leadership hustings in Manchester. Bloomberg -
Ms Truss poses for a selfie with a supporter as she arrives for the event in Manchester. Getty -
Rishi Sunak looks through the sights of an anti-tank missile launcher, supplied to Ukraine, during a visit to the Thales Defence System plant in Belfast, Northern Ireland. AP -
Liz Truss at a Conservative Party leadership campaign event in Belfast. Getty -
Liz Truss meets supporters before a hustings in Perth, Scotland. Getty -
Rishi Sunak speaks during a campaign visit to Cluny Castle in Inverurie, Scotland. Getty -
Police hold back protesters outside Perth Concert Hall, Scotland, where Conservative leadership candidates Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak were speaking. PA -
A mural showing the two leadership contestants appears on a wall in Belfast, Northern Ireland. AP -
Rishi Sunak during a visit to St John's Wood Synagogue, north London. PA -
Liz Truss at the Conservative Party leadership election hustings in Cheltenham. EPA -
Rishi Sunak during a hustings event in Cheltenham. Reuters -
Liz Truss speaks to scientists during a campaign visit to a life sciences laboratory at Alderley Park in Manchester. PA -
Rishi Sunak during a campaign hustings in Darlington, England. Bloomberg -
Liz Truss meets party members before she speaks at the Darlington campaign hustings. Getty -
Rishi Sunak arrives for the Darlington hustings. Getty -
Liz Truss plays pool during a visit to the Onside Future Youth Zone in London. Reuters -
Rishi Sunak looks at a book with Teddy Openshaw, 4, as his father, Henry, looks on after a Conservative leadership campaign event in Ribble Valley, Lancashire, England. Getty -
Liz Truss plays table tennis with former Conservative party leader Iain Duncan Smith during a visit to the Onside Future Youth Zone in London. Reuters -
Liz Truss with supporters at a campaign event in Solihull, England. Reuters -
Rishi Sunak attends a campaign event held by his party in Bexhill, England. Reuters -
A protester is removed as Ms Truss speaks during the Conservative Party leadership hustings in Eastbourne. Bloomberg -
Mr Sunak speaks at an event in Edinburgh. PA -
Ms Truss leaves the hall in Exeter, south-west England, after her speech to a Conservative Party membership hustings. Getty -
Mr Sunak speaks at the University of Exeter in south-west England. AP -
A supporter of Ms Truss at a Conservative Party hustings in Exeter, south-west England. Getty -
Ms Truss at a hustings event at the Pavilion conference centre at Elland Road in Leeds. PA -
Mr Sunak in Salisbury watching a screening of the Uefa Women's Euro 2022 final between England and Germany at Wembley stadium. England won 2-1 in extra time. PA -
Ms Truss before the Uefa Women's Euro 2022 final at Wembley stadium in London. AFP -
Mr Sunak meets Tory members at Fontwell Park Racecourse. Reuters -
Ms Truss at an event in Dereham, Norfolk. AFP -
Mr Sunak in Ropley, near Winchester, Hampshire. PA -
Ms Truss speaks as Conservative Member of Parliament Tom Tugendhat looks on at a Conservative Party leadership campaign event at Biggin Hill Airport. Getty -
Ms Truss on the campaign trail in Woodford Green, on the outskirts of London. Reuters -
Mr Sunak at a Conservative Party hustings event in Leeds. AFP -
Ms Truss speaks at the hustings event in Leeds. AFP -
Sunak and Truss-themed souvenirs at a stand during the Leeds hustings event. Reuters -
Ms Truss, and her mother, Patricia, arrive for the hustings event. Getty -
Ms Truss poses with supporters in Morley, England. Getty -
Mr Sunak delivers a speech during a campaign event in Newmarket. AFP -
Ms Truss and Jake Berry, MP for Rossendale and Darwen, during a visit to a broadband interchange company in Leeds. PA -
Mr Sunak answers questions as he takes part in the hustings in Leeds. AFP -
Ms Truss speaks at an event at a private house with members of the Conservative Party in Woodford Green. PA -
Ms Truss and Mr Sunak pose for a picture before a BBC leadership debate at Victoria Hall in Hanley. Getty -
Ms Truss addresses Mr Sunak during the televised debate. Getty -
Mr Sunak, with daughters Krishna and Anushka, and wife Akshata Murthy, during a visit to Vaculug tyre specialists at Gonerby Hill Foot, Grantham. PA -
Ms Truss speaks to people while campaigning in Marden. Getty -
Ms Truss celebrates after being named, along with Mr Sunak, one of the final two candidates in the race to become the UK's next prime minister. PA -
Mr Sunak outside his campaign office in central London. EPA -
Ms Truss outside Downing Street in London. Reuters -
Rishi Sunak meets Conservative Party members and activists, in Teesport, Redcar. Reuters -
Conservative leadership candidates Mr Sunak, Ms Truss, Kemi Badenoch, presenter Julie Etchingham, Tom Tugendhat and Penny Mordaunt during 'Britain's Next Prime Minister: The ITV Debate' in London. EPA -
Ms Badenoch arrives at Here East studios in Stratford, east London, before a live television debate. PA -
Mr Sunak arrives at a London event to launch his campaign to be the next Conservative Party leader and UK prime minister. Reuters -
Mr Tugendhat appears on the BBC One current affairs programme, 'Sunday Morning'. PA -
Ms Badenoch, Ms Mordaunt, Mr Sunak, Ms Truss and Mr Tugendhat before the live television debate. PA -
Ms Mordaunt arrives for the launch of her Conservative leadership campaign at the Cinnamon Club in Westminster. PA -
Ms Truss speaks at the launch event for her campaign to become the next leader of the Tory Party and Britain's prime minister, in London. EPA -
Chancellor of the Exchequer Nadhim Zahawi, one of the candidates who has been knocked out of the race, giving a speech at the Churchill War Rooms. PA -
Former leadership candidate Jeremy Hunt appearing on the BBC One current affairs programme, 'Sunday Morning'. PA -
Sajid Javid attending the launch of his campaign to be Conservative Party leader and prime minister, at the Cinnamon Club in London. He has since been knocked out of the contest. PA -
Rehman Chishti is interviewed after announcing his bid to become the next prime minister. Mr Chishti is no longer in the race. Getty -
Mr Tugendhat speaking at the launch of his campaign. PA -
Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries and Conservative MP Iain Duncan Smith arrive for the Truss campaign launch event. Getty -
Former leadership candidate Attorney General Suella Braverman at the Churchill War Rooms in central London. PA -
Supporters of Mr Sunak wait for his arrival ahead of the campaign launch. Bloomberg -
Mr Tugendhat makes a speech at the launch of his campaign. PA -
Mr Javid mops his brow while launching his campaign. Getty -
Ms Truss leaves for work after her announcement that she would be running for the leadership of the Conservative Party. Getty
