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Conservative candidates are distancing themselves from Rishi Sunak and his party’s brand ahead of local elections in England and Wales this week, in a sign of concern about the party’s damaged national reputation.
Mayoral candidates and would-be councilors have ditched Tory blue in favor of a broad color palette, opting against referencing the party in favor of emphasizing local issues over national ones.
Keane Duncan, who is running to become York and North Yorkshire’s first mayor, has little evidence on his website that he is running for the Tories – or that the Prime Minister represents a parliamentary seat in the region.
Susan Hall and Andy Street, Conservative mayoral candidates in London and the West Midlands, have also opted for different color schemes.
Hall’s campaign branding is a striking departure from London Assembly member Lord Shaun Bailey, whose 2021 mayoral election was much more aligned with the party’s traditional images.
“If your own brand is so toxic, it makes sense for your own candidates to distance themselves. If that means some dilution of the brand, then so be it,” said Tim Bale, professor of politics at Queen Mary University of London.
Although right-wing rebels in the House of Commons claim Sunak will challenge his leadership if the Tories suffer heavy losses, Thursday’s local elections offered the party candidates an opportunity to focus on their region rather than Westminster.
The Conservative majority in Westminster has almost halved since the 2019 general election, while divisions among MPs and scandals over the behavior of some sitting MPs have damaged the party’s reputation.
Bale said both Conservative MPs and councilors were “splitting away” from the National Party at a time when opinion polls suggested Labor was about 20 points behind Labor and Sunak’s net favoritism for a sitting prime minister was at one is a historic low.
Polling firm Ipsos said this month that Sunak had a net rating of -59, a new personal low and a figure last recorded in 1994 by John Major, who subsequently suffered a landslide defeat by Tony Blair.
Andy Street – who faces a tight race to return as mayor of the West Midlands and who this month urged the Conservatives to avoid “posturing” in favor of delivery to boost their chances in the general election – is the archetype, according to Luke Tryl of this trend, head of the consulting firm More in Common.
“In focus groups people say they will vote for Street because he is not a Tory or has gone against the party,” Tryl said. “If he wins it will only be because he has managed to tone down the Tory brand.”
Street’s 149-page campaign manifesto makes one reference to the Conservatives and his campaign literature avoids references to the party in favor of a more individual approach. His campaign, meanwhile, emphasized green and purple over blue.
In a recent article for ConservativeHome, a party activist website, Street said he had taken a “Brand Andy” approach since he was first elected eight years ago. “When I first agreed to take this job. . . “It was done on the understanding that I would do it my own way,” Street wrote.
Local councilors have also presented a range of campaign literature to voters in a bid to distance themselves from the party and Sunak.
According to the Election Commission, the election regulator, candidates are not required to display their party’s logo or use specific colors or trademarks.
The Conservative Party said: “Local Conservatives talk about what they have done locally or about the issues that need to be addressed in their area. Leaflets are clearly marked as political material and comply with relevant electoral rules.”
If Street is re-elected alongside Lord Ben Houchen, the current Tees Valley mayor, Sunak is expected to focus his message after Thursday on retaining the party’s two mayoralties it currently holds, despite the potential loss of hundreds of council seats .
In the individual polls, both Tory mayors are well ahead of the main party in their respective regions, and with Sunak’s focus quickly turning to a general election where candidates have less scope, the challenge will be convincing future MPs to get behind that Marching party banners.
In a three-minute campaign launch Video Posted on
Street, Hall and Duncan have been contacted for comment.
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