Peterborough Conservatives talk trauma trust and leadership

Over the past 12 months, Peterborough’s Conservatives lost the leadership of the city’s council and saw a new Labour MP elected by just 118 votes.

At their regular curry night, party members and councillors admitted it had been a tough time.

Nationally, as the Tories chose between Kemi Badenoch and Robert Jenrick, supporters shared what qualities they looked for in a leader and who could steer them to victory.

Janet Wilkinson has been in the Conservative Party for 24 years, but said recently, it had not been easy.

“We’ve had so much trauma over the last few years,” she told the BBC.

“With all the leader replacements and everything, I have become a bit disillusioned.”

She added that conflict in the party, “especially on the Westminster side”, had “become ridiculous – it’s become laughable for a lot of people”.

Ms Wilkinson, 58, was one of a couple of dozen people at Peterborough Conservatives’ regular curry night.

Across three tables, at the city’s Bombay Brasserie, sat councillors, party members and supporters.

A WhatsApp message inviting people to the event asked whether they’re a “Badenoch Balti” or a “Jenrick Jalfrezi”.

Ms Wilkinson had not made her mind up but hoped for someone who could bring the party “back together”.

“Replacing the leader every five minutes – that is never good for a party,” she said.

“I’m still hanging in there and supporting what I believe in, because I think the long-term view is more important than the bad stuff that happened recently.”

According to others at the curry night, that “bad stuff” included breaking promises while in government and losing voters’ trust.

Councillor Wayne Fitzgerald leads the party’s group on Peterborough City Council.

He backed Newark MP Robert Jenrick, but said it was “so slim” between two “capable and able” candidates.

Fitzgerald said Jenrick’s proposal to quickly leave the European Convention on Human Rights tipped the balance and would help devise a “sensible immigration policy”.

“I’ll be perfectly clear – I am pro-immigration, but the right kind of immigration, given to the right people who come here and want to work and contribute to our society,” he explained.

“[Tory problems are] a cocktail of things, but that probably is foremost in most people’s minds.

“Particularly when you have half an eye on Reform and their pitch to our voters that have perhaps deserted us – rightly – because the Conservative Party let the country down. It made promises it didn’t keep.”

But for councillor Steve Allen, Jenrick is “a bit too polarized on his points of view”.

Allen, 76, said he would vote for North West Essex’s MP, Kemi Badenoch, but had favoured another candidate.

He said Braintree MP James Cleverly “stole the show” with a “fantastic presentation” at the Conservative Party Conference.

But Cleverly did not make it to the final two as more MPs backed Jenrick and Badenoch in earlier rounds of voting.

Nevertheless, Allen said Badenoch was a “class act”.

“What I like about her – she has this proposal to fix the roof before we start putting furniture in the building,” he said.

“Find what went wrong before we start coming across with defined policies.”

Allen’s wife, Jacqueline – a party member for eight years – is also backing Badenoch.

She spent several hours before the curry telephone canvassing on behalf of her campaign.

She said 16 of the 20 party members she called, favoured Badenoch.

“She has been described as pugnacious,” Mrs Allen, 59, said.

“But I think she’s not frightened to question. She wants to fix things and she is forensic in her analysis.

“So, what she’s done is opened up conversations that have previously been closed.”

Alex Rafiq, a 39-year-old city councillor, had immigration on his mind, but kept tight lipped about who he supported.

“I felt one candidate had clearer policies and clearer issues, one of them being illegal immigration,” he said.

He was also disappointed Cleverly didn’t make it onto the final ballot.

“I think we were probably shocked with who the final two were, but the general consensus is we’ll get behind whoever’s selected,” he added.

Both candidates have ministerial experience – Badenoch was Business Secretary in Rishi Sunak’s cabinet, while Jenrick served as Housing and Communities Secretary in Boris Johnson’s government and was latterly immigration minister.

Deeshen Ruttun, 31, said Jenrick’s housing and immigration experience put him ahead.

“If you look at the areas that are affecting the people overall, forget the parties for now, he’s the one I think that is more ready to be able to solve these [issues],” he said.

Speaking about the mood in the party, he said after a heavy defeat in the General Election, “every step” takes the party forward.

“The mood is better and obviously it’s a new start, let’s put it that way,” he continued.

“Now is the time to turn the page, select the right leader and move forward.”