Strong support for Boris Johnson in Shrewsbury despite 'partygate'

That's according to a straw poll of the electorate in the heart of Tory MP Daniel Kawcynski's constituency after they had time to digest the devastating interim findings of a report into lockdown parties.

After success in North Shropshire, the Liberal Democrats have openly targeted Mr Kawcynski's seat for the general election, where he will defend a majority of 11,217. But support for the Tories on the streets of the county town appears to be holding up.

Shrewsbury residents Barry Strevens, aged 78, and his wife Anne, aged 83, say their likelihood of voting Conservative has actually increased since the scandal broke.

Mr Strevens, who had worked as a Number 10 bodyguard to Margaret Thatcher in her heyday, said: "There was no way that Mrs Thatcher could be in charge of everything at Downing Street. The Prime Minister really does have a lot on his plate. Yes, he has made mistakes, nobody is perfect, but he has done a lot of good."

He added: "I swore that I would never vote Conservative because of the way they treated Mrs Thatcher. This makes me more likely to vote for him – and because there is no competition. If you elect someone you've got to stay with them. He is the best person, there is no-one else."

And Mrs Strevens said: "Now is not the time to change leader, it will just distract from the other priorities. I can't stand the leftie types and as you can tell we are both very anti-woke."

The message was very much the same from Shrewsbury NHS worker Nick. Nick, aged 50, did not wish to give his surname but supports the Prime Minister for the way he has handled the Covid-19 crisis.

He said: "From the point of view of my experience in the NHS we had no problems getting hold of PPE. Yes, he has done stupid things but the majority of people broke the rules during lockdown - I don't think Labour would have done any better. The media is more interested in tea parties than of Ukraine being invaded and leading to World War Three."

For Froukje Zweirs, aged 65, who lives near Shrewsbury, the issue was more about supporting Boris Johnson over dropping mask and vaccine mandates than about parties.

"I do not follow the mainstream media but if you compare him to the puppy attitude of the US President, he is straightforward and confident. He has got some intelligence.

"The parties issue is a lot of nonsense and I hope it blows over quickly so he can get on with business. If he wanted a party with everyone with their masks off, let him do it."

Ms Zweirs, who hopes to gain residency in the UK from New Zealand, said she was proudly unvaccinated. She added: "It is time to get on with life."

But among younger, floating voters, Mr Johnson may be on shakier ground.

Dan Thurston, aged 23, from Atcham, had been following the debate on Monday with great interest. A recent graduate, he thinks Mr Johnson has lost credibility as a leader and should resign.

"I think he should resign," said Mr Thurston. "If a new and more dangerous variant emerges and he had to ask people to go into lockdown, he would not have the authority. For that reason alone he should go."

Mr Thurston said he would consider voting Conservative if the party had a different candidate. He has not voted for the Tories before, but said: "I would support Rory Stewart to be leader of the party, someone who is sincere, honest, and willing to do the right thing."

Former A-level politics student Tom Manley, aged 23, still takes a keen interest in the goings-on at Westminster and saw the Sue Gray report's findings as "pretty damning."

He believes that the Metropolitan Police's announcement of an investigation has "bailed out" the PM in the short term at least.

"If Parliament is sovereign the whole report should have been released by now," he said. "It is obvious though that he has lied and he should resign."

Mr Manley considers himself to be a floating voter and would consider voting "Conservative or Labour" if it were not for Mr Johnson.

"It is bad politics to have a PM of the country who tells people what to do and then cannot abide by his own rules," he said.

Mr Manley said he would support Foreign Secretary Liz Truss to be leader of the Conservatives.