Stratford Conservatives ‘we’ll be back’ after shock general election defeat
IT was always going to be a tough job but the new chair of Stratford Conservative Association found himself in the hot seat with the immediate challenge of finding a new candidate.
Rich Walters took over from Lynda Organ at the end of the week in May that Nadhim Zahawi announced he was withdrawing from the race – and just before former prime minister Rishi Sunak surprised many a non-betting Tory colleague by announcing 4th July as the election date.
Polling had already put Lib Dem candidate Manuela Perteghella ahead of the controversially re-selected Mr Zahawi and the chance to bring in a new candidate failed to give the party bouncebackability, with the popular – and local – Ms Perteghella securing the seat.
While the Tories threw their campaigning might behind Chris Clarkson, a Manchester MP who knew Stretford End better than Stratford-on-Avon, the decades of it being a true blue seat were over, leaving Mr Walters and his association in unchartered territory with a Lib Dem MP, the Lib Dems in control of the district council – and not many months to regroup before voting in their last stronghold, the county council, next year.
In reflecting on Thursday night’s reality check, Mr Walters said: “The result was bitterly disappointing for Stratford Conservatives. We have to reflect and accept that no party in British history has won five consecutive general elections. There was clearly an appetite for change and alternatives existed on the ballot paper.
“We offer our congratulations to James Crocker, Seyi Agboola and Stratford CLP, Neil O’Neil and Kevin Taylor for their good humour, good manners, and for running clean and issues-based campaigns.
“We must also offer our very best wishes to Stratford’s new MP as they make the often difficult transition from council chamber to the green benches, especially given the bold and definitive commitments they made as part of their campaign.”
And while not commenting directly on whether candidate choice or Reform votes proved their undoing, he said there was Arnie-style hope to be found on the doorsteps: “What struck my team and I were the number of self-professed Conservative voters who told us ‘not this time’ and ‘we’ll be back’. Clearly, we have lost these people to other parties but they are looking for a way back to us.”
He added: “We are here to stay and committed to building a vibrant, professional and tenacious campaigning machine that will make the positive case for British Conservative values as we face the electoral challenges ahead.”
