Boris Johnson: What do voters in Clacton-on-Sea think of the prime minister?

Giles Watling won the Clacton-on-Sea seat for the Conservatives with 72.3% of the vote in the 2019 General Election. Three years on, he was one of the 148 MPs who voted to remove Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Do people in the Essex resort share the views of their MP?

After voting against Mr Johnson in Monday's vote of no confidence, Mr Watling said he felt it had sent a clear message to the prime minister.

"I think this is a shot over the bows," he said. "He's got to reach out to people. He's lost the link he's always had with the public and he needs to reforge that."

Mr Johnson was backed by 211 of his party's MPs but 148 voted to remove him.

In the Clacton constituency, which also includes the towns of Frinton-on-Sea and Walton-on-the-Naze, voters are divided over how to move forward.

Ian and Jan Thompson, from Frinton-on-Sea, says it is hard to see how Mr Johnson can carry on after the Partygate revelations.

Mr Thompson says: "Unfortunately Boris led everyone astray... with his earlier 'I wasn't involved, I didn't understand it' or whatever else he was coming out with.

"People slowly but surely are losing confidence in him. You can't have the head of state like that... it's not acceptable, it's not on."

Mrs Thompson agrees that Partygate was very damaging for the prime minister.

Mrs Thompson says: "Everybody found out and everyone lost confidence in what he says now. It would take a lot to come round to him again."

Paul and Mel Riddleston, from Clacton-on-Sea, say they are happy with the result of the MPs' vote and hope it means people can move on.

Mrs Riddleston said: "Obviously I saw the results, I was quite pleased. He's been doing a good job, especially over the last few years with Covid. Who would have replaced him?

"They [politicians] need to move on and focus on people really struggling still for a number of reasons - illnesses, diseases and hardship."

Mr Riddleston feels Mr Johnson is still trustworthy.

"There's a lot more important things going on that have been pushed to the side, things that mean more to people," he says.

Julia Smith, owner of the Blue Garden Café in Clacton, says trust is not "the right word" when it comes to her feelings about the prime minister.

"Maybe he needs to go back and do some homework, looking at how people should behave when in positions of leadership," she says.

Ms Smith first opened her family business in March 2020 but was forced to close multiple times over the last two years.

"Maybe it is time to accept the apology that's been made and maybe there are bigger fish to fry at the present time?" she says.

"We've just got to perhaps move on. I don't see any particular viable alternatives at the present time."

Instead of election and leadership talk, Ms Smith wants to see politicians focus more on the economy and on providing for families and local businesses.

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