Conservatives from Camden enjoy a trip to Manchester

Struggling both nationally and locally ­– ­but with council elections coming around the corner, Hannah Badawi-Crook went to the Conservative party conference in Manchester to find out what the Tories think they should do now

Conservatives are in “don’t panic” mode ahead of local elections in Camden despite poor national polling and a group operating with just three councillors.

The Tories surrendered their title as the official opposition in Camden to the Liberal Democrats at the last set of Town Hall elections in 2022 with organisers blaming Boris Johnson’s post-Covid unpopularity for a near wipeout performance.

Long gone are days of the 1970s and 80s when they put up a challenge to Labour majorities on the council and even had the MP for Hampstead and Highgate in Geoffrey Finsberg.

But the leader of the Camden Conservatives now, Councillor Steve Adams, said he would not go into next May’s boroughwide ballots with “desperate moves and suddenly unrealistic promises”.

As members enjoyed the annual party conference here in Manchester this week, he said the only way back to some prominence in Camden would be a “focus on the mundane” and issues that “councilors can actually fix”.

He went on to list housing repairs, recycling and street safety.

“It’s not glamorous, but it’s what residents expect us to do,” Cllr Adams said.

In the past, Labour has suffered at council elections when the party is in power nationally ­– as might be the case now.

But Cllr Adams was not being drawn into the power plays at Westminster nor the speculation developing over how long the party faithful will be persuaded by the leadership of Kemi Badenoch amid defections and the obvious threat of Reform.

So far Nigel Farage’s party has not made ground in local politics in north London, and Cllr Adams was insistent that the route back for the Tories would be in resolving the day-to-day issues important to residents “It would be our aspiration to reduce the tax burden over a period of time, responsibly,” Cllr Adams said.

“But we’re not going to make promises we can’t keep, or suggest policy that hasn’t been thought out and considered.

“We try to magnify our impact by being hands-on. There’s no sitting around doing nothing.”

Ewan Cameron in the conference exhibition hall

The election campaign will be lead by former councillor Ewan Cameron who is now the chair of the association.

He said that there was no doubt that the party would “field candidates in every seat”, and said that there had been learning since the party lost power nationally.

“It forces us to reflect on what’s gone wrong and focus on the big challenges ahead,” he said.

“Whether you’re on a doorstep in Belsize Park or West Hampstead, you have to be able to articulate a clear vision,” he said.

Mr Cameron said this would mean a campaign focus on public order, cleaner streets and the conduct of licensees.

He said the elections would also bring about debates about skyline-changing developments, warning that plans such as the overhaul of the O2 Centre site in Finchley Road risked turning neigbourhoods into “dormitories”.

He said: “Camden should absolutely be a social landlord again. You might not hear that coming from a Conservative, but Camden has a role as landlord. It just has to prove it can be a good one.

“We don’t want slum landlords, which is potentially how you could label Camden Council today.”

It has not escaped Labour councillors’ notice that Mr Cameron has returned to action on the political front line in Camden.

He enraged them earlier this month when he was quoted in the Daily Telegraph questioning the amount of money spent on assisting refugees, including on haircuts and football sessions for children.

“Our Labour-led council remains fixated on showboating their support for minorities, as opposed to doing the hard work that would actually improve the lives of Camden residents,” he said.

Housing topped the agenda at the conference where shadow chancellor Sir Mel Stride promised a £5,000 tax rebate for young people in their first job to help them buy a home.

For younger members at the conference, that was seen as a winning ticket.

Kevin Ghateh, chair of the Barnet and Camden Young Conservatives, said he wants the party to tackle the “stigma” of being a Tory by pushing for “truly affordable housing”.

“When you’re looking at new one-bed flats in Camden selling for around half a million pounds, that’s not affordable for a young person,” he said.

Mr Ghateh said it was a tough problem to solve but believes schemes like Help to Buy could make a comeback.

“It’s about finding a way to make housing genuinely affordable for young people,” he said.

The Tories currently only have three councillors in Camden, two in Frognal and one in Hampstead Town.

Andrew Parkinson has already said he will be stepping down at May’s elections after eight years as a councillor.