Peterborough Conservatives talk trauma trust and leadership

Janet Wilkinson has been in the Conservative Party for 24 years but recently said it had not been easy.

“We’ve been through a lot of trauma over the last few years,” he told the BBC.

“I’m a little disappointed with all the leadership changes and stuff.”

He added that the conflict within the party “especially on the Westminster side” had “become ludicrous, ludicrous to a lot of people”.

Ms Wilkinson, 58, was one of several dozen people who attended the Peterborough Conservatives’ regular curry night.

At the city’s Bombay Brasserie, councillors, party members and supporters were seated at three tables.

A WhatsApp message inviting people to the event asks whether they are “Badenoch Balti” or “Jenrick Jalfrezi”.

Ms Wilkinson had not yet made up her mind but was hoping for someone who could “bring the party back together”.

“When the leader is changed every five minutes, that is never a good thing for a party,” he said.

“I’m still standing there and standing up for what I believe in because I think the long-term perspective is more important than the bad things that have happened recently.”

According to others at the curry night, these “bad things” included breaking promises made while in government and losing the trust of voters.