Could it be true?
Every day between now and the election, Tortoise's Alexi Mostrous will examine a claim from the campaign trail. Some will be outlandish, some believable. Some might even be true.
Like Peter denying Jesus before the rooster crowed, some Tory party candidates have been dissociating themselves from their leader in the run-up to the election. Andrea Jenkyns, the Conservative candidate for Leeds South West and Morley, sent constituents an A5 leaflet showing a picture of her with a grinning Nigel Farage taken at the Reform UK leader’s 60th birthday party. Neil Mahaptra, standing in Tunbridge Wells, told voters he was “so very sorry” for his party’s performance since 2019 – he even took a swipe at Rishi Sunak for announcing the general election in the rain. Tom Hunt, another Reform-minded Tory candidate, summed up the views of many of his cohort when he wrote: “I’m disappointed… however we are where we are.”
