Tory candidate denies trying to win in Liverpool is like 'flogging a dead horse'

A Conservative candidate hoping to win a Liverpool parliamentary seat has insisted campaigning for the Tories isn’t akin to “flogging a dead horse.”

In less than 24 hours time, millions of people will cast their vote to decide who will make up the 650 Parliamentarians across the UK and ultimately the next government. Liverpool has not had a Tory MP for 41 years across its five constituencies.

With the final opinion polls ahead of the general election indicating Labour is expected to romp home in a majority, one Conservative candidate hoping to cause a political earthquake by taking a staunchly red seat said her party had a mixed response on the doorstep.

READ MORE: Liverpool Wavertree 2024 general election candidates

READ MORE: Polling stations in Liverpool for General Election 2024

Charlotte Eagar is a journalist, author and filmmaker hoping to unseat Labour’s Paula Barker in tomorrow’s general election for the Tories. The last Conservative in Parliament to represent Liverpool was Malcolm Thornton who won Garston as Margaret Thatcher swept to power in 1979 and stayed until 1983.

Given Liverpool’s historic animosity towards the Tories - stemming more recently from Mrs Thatcher’s Premiership and Boris Johnson’s crass comments about the city - did Ms Eagar feel the weight of that in her campaign? She said: “I’m so proud to have been selected as a candidate for a fantastic city like Liverpool which – despite its recent history – has had a long association with the Conservative party, going back many generations. I’m loving my time here.”

Posting on social media, the London-based podcast host said she had been staying in a hotel during her campaign in the city. With opinion polls indicating what could be a disastrous election for the Tories and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak - who faces potentially losing his own traditional safe seat in North Yorkshire - a potential loss here in Liverpool could go under the radar.

Ms Eagar was keen to suggest however that reception for her candidacy wasn’t all out negative. She said: “I’ve found almost everyone very friendly and open to what I have to say. I’ve campaigned widely in Liverpool Wavertree, from Mossley Hill to Hartington Road, Lark Lane to Lodge Lane, and had a complete mix on the doorsteps, as you’d expect, but a lot of people are very frustrated with the city’s Labour administration and that the commissioners were having be brought in to sort out the mess.”

Despite those well documented issues within the local authority, Liverpool Labour was returned to run the city for five more years in last year’s all out city council elections. Projections suggest all five of its parliamentary seats are unlikely to change hands either.

Is trying to turn long-held red seats blue a waste of time? Not according to Ms Eagar. She said: “Campaigning for the Conservative party is never like flogging a dead horse.

“Liverpool is a vibrant, burgeoning city and as such attracts natural conservatives with conservative values – who want to get on in life, have a secure future for themselves and their families, build their careers and businesses, and appreciate small government and low taxation. Empowerment for people will always be a good policy for us in the UK.”

The full list of candidates for Liverpool Wavertree:

Paula Barker - Labour

Tom Crone - The Green Party

Charlotte Eager - Conservative

Mohamed Jaffar El Gadhy - Independent

Adam Heatherington - Reform UK

Rob McAllister-Bell - Liberal Democrats

Joe Owens - Independent

Ann San - Independent