Boris has 'without a doubt' harmed party's reputation, Tory councillor says

20 May 2022, 14:13 | Updated: 20 May 2022, 14:35

Boris Johnson has 'without doubt' harmed the Conservative party

By Seán Hickey

A former Home Office special advisor tells LBC that Boris Johnson's leadership is bringing the Conservative party into disrepute.

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Sue Gray's team have reportedly reached out to Boris Johnson to assist with her long-awaited Partygate report, after the Met confirmed they would not be issuing any more fixed penalty notices to the Prime Minister for breaking his own lockdown rules.

Claire Pearsall joined Shelagh Fogarty to assess the damage numerous scandals Boris Johnson has presided over have had on the Conservative Party.

The Conservative Councillor declared that the public's attitude to the PM has "been shifting for some time", to the point where public trust in the government is "slowly ebbing away."

Read more: Tory councillor: Backbench rebellion 'beginning of the end' for PM

Read more: 'Boris didn't get away with Partygate': Raab says it's up to Sue Gray to name and shame

Shelagh reminded the former advisor to Immigration Minister Caroline Nokes that "he was the darling of the party that still made a lot of people nervous".

She wondered if "the same concerns that pre-existed him getting into power still exist?"

Read more: Caller, who lost mother, brands PM a 'proven liar' before breaking down in tears

James O'Brien takes on those backing Boris Johnson on partygate

Ms Pearsall declared that whilst "on a vote-winning basis, he is brilliant", the PM's failings are slowly catching up with him.

The issue, as she sees it, lies in how the Cabinet is full of MPs who give Boris Johnson their undying support irrespective of his poor "attention to detail" or his inability to be serious when it is needed.

Read more: Andrew Marr: Historians will ask 'how on earth did Boris Johnson survive Partygate?'

The Tory Councillor believed the Cabinet is "due a reshuffle" in order to save the party and the government.

"Has he ruined the Conservative party? Has he harmed the Conservative party?" Shelagh asked.

"Without doubt he has harmed the Conservative party," Ms Pearsall confirmed, going on to explain how the Prime Minister's reputation has translated in a decimation of the party at a grassroots level.

"It's local councillors trying to serve their communities that are bearing the brunt of this," she added, concluding by telling Shelagh it is "really heartbreaking" to see the damage being dealt by the Prime Minister.

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