The ‘Tumbleweed Tories' don't appear to be gripping the local elections
There is a certain mordant symbolism in the recent absence of the Conservative Party's head of strategy in the run up to this week's critical elections in England. Rachel Maclean has been away on holiday in the Himalayas even as her colleagues fret over the ramifications of an expected breakthrough by Reform and the continued threat from the Liberal Democrats.
Nigel Farage's party is expected to secure the largest proportion of the vote locally and win the by-election for the parliamentary seat of Runcorn and Helsby. The Lib Dems are hoping to take control of a swathe of councils in the Home Counties and the South West.
For Lady Maclean to take a holiday at such a time seems astonishing though it may be said there was not much she could do to influence the outcome.
The fact she has been in the Himalayas invites comments about mountains to climb but also suggests a lack of seriousness at the top of the party's organisation which Kemi Badenoch has been so anxious to shake up and professionalise.
Their opponents voice their astonishment at the hollowing out of the once great Tory party political machine. The loss of so many MPs and councillors and an exodus of members has made door-to-door campaigning harder. Lib Dems refer derisively to what they call 'the tumbleweed Tories' who have given up trying in so-called 'red wall' areas that have become a Labour-Reform fight.
This Thursday will undoubtedly be difficult for the Tories and for Labour, too. While incumbent governments are used to losing by-elections Runcorn is one of its safest seats and defeat will confirm suspicions that their general election victory last July was superficial and shallow.
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