Yahoo News Jonathan Gullis' advice for Stoke-on-Trent Tories - and what he plans to do next
Former Stoke-on-Trent MP Jonathan Gullis believes local Conservatives need to find out why so many of their voters chose to 'sit at home' in the general election - resulting in the party's defeat. Mr Gullis lost his Stoke-on-Trent North seat in Thursday's historic election, with his fellow Tory candidates also losing in Stoke-on-Trent Central and Stoke-on-Trent South.
Turnout in both Stoke-on-Trent North and Central was at a 23-year low, with less than half of the registered voters in the latter bothering to cast a vote. In Stoke-on-Trent North, turnout fell from 57.5 per cent in 2019 to 51.9 per cent, while in Stoke-on-Trent Central it dropped from 57.9 per cent to 47.99 per cent.
Mr Gullis, who has been one of the most high profile 'Red Wall' Tory MPs over the last five years, says Stoke-on-Trent Conservatives need to look at why so many voters sat out this election, which he believes was a major factor in the Tory defeats.
READ: Jonathan Gullis loses Stoke-on-Trent North to resurgent Labour - Labour's David Williams is the new Stoke-on-Trent North MP
READ: Top Tory Sir Gavin Williamson new Stone MP after Sir Bill Cash quits - Sir Bill Cash stepped down in May after 40 years as an MP
He said: "The low turnout in Stoke-on-Trent North and Central shows that there is a lot of apathy out there, and it's now incumbent on Stoke-on-Trent Conservatives to go out and engage with our community and find out why it was that more people chose to sit at home, and convince them those people that they can put their faith and trust in the Conservative Party going forward."
Mr Gullis, who worked as a teacher before being elected in 2019, and over the last four-and-a-half years he has gained a reputation for being an vociferous supporter of various government policies, such as Brexit, levelling up and the controversial Rwanda scheme. According to Hansard, Mr Gullis made a total of 762 spoken contributions in the House of Commons during the last Parliament, which he says is more than any of his predecessors in Stoke-on-Trent North.
He has railed against the 'almond butter wokerati' and the 'metropolitan elite', and has clashed with a local foodbank and Commons Speaker Lindsay Hoyle.
Earlier this year, Mr Gullis introduced a bill for 'Sharlotte's Law' - named after six-year-old Sharlotte-Sky Naglis who was killed in a drink and drug-driving collision. A blood sample from motorist John Owen, who was twice over the drink-drive limit and had taken cocaine, could not be tested for months due to the fact that he had been left in a coma.
The proposed law would allow the authorities to test blood samples without consent, to prevent families like Sharlotte's being subjected to similar delays. Mr Gullis admitted to being a 'Marmite' politician, but insisted he was proud of his record since 2019, and claimed he had been a voice for ordinary Stoke-on-Trent residents in Westminster.
Following his election defeat, Mr Gullis said he would be looking forward to a rest, and would then 'dust off the CV' and look for a new job. He says he is also looking forward to hitting the election campaign trail in Staffordshire again next year.
Mr Gullis said: "It's going to be a warm cup of milk and a long sleep, because I'm absolutely shattered. And then a nice weekend of spending some quality time with the children who haven't been able to see me properly. Then I'm going to take some time to think about what it is I'd like to do in the future, and like anyone else, dust off the CV and see if anyone is willing to hire me.
"This is my home, I've bought my first home here. I can't say I'll be here forever, it will dependent on what work is available, I'm not going to deny that. But I am ready to get back on those streets and knock on doors and get Conservative Staffordshire county councillors re-elected in Kidsgrove and Newchapel, and in Talke and Butt Lane in May 2025."
