Boris Johnson: Why Monmouthshire turned against PM

"What was the final straw?" I ask Kerry Filer on Monmouth high street after she tells me she's "just glad he's gone".

Kerry lost her brother during the pandemic and only a handful of people were able to attend his funeral.

"When we found out then that [the prime minister] was having parties and celebrating his birthday, that upset us all."

This is true blue territory - a safe Conservative seat since the party regained it from Labour in 2005.

And yet on this visit to Monmouth, I did not find a single person who felt he was wrong to announce he was stepping down.

"I believe him to be the worst prime minister this country's ever had," said Andy Rainbow as he dusted a vinyl record behind his stall under the arches of the town's Shire Hall.

Moments later Ken Butler, another stallholder, came marching toward me, clearly keen to air his opinion.

"An absolute load of rubbish," he began.

"Honestly, seriously, he should never have been prime minister," Mr Butler said.

Others were less forthright in their criticism, but equally scathing.

"I used to like him, to be honest," Michelle Hall said as she walked down the main shopping street.

"But unfortunately it's his integrity - or lack of it - and all the lies."

On the bank of the river, I found Phil Francis and Barbara Brown sitting under a tree reading their copies of the Daily Mail.

"He did a lot of good things and a lot of not very good things, so we don't know where we're going now do we?" Barbara said. Before adding that she still prefers Mr Johnson to Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer.

It was the most positive comment I heard about the Prime Minister all day.

Back at the Shire Hall, I met Sherren McCabe-Finlayson, chair of the local chamber of commerce, who said: "I think it's a huge relief for businesses.

"While the Johnson government was superb in the grant schemes that we had during Covid, since that period the morale of businesses has gone continually downhill just because of the shenanigans."

In the same spot, I spoke to councillor Richard John, leader of the Conservative group on Monmouthshire council.

Before May's local elections, and a bruising set of results for his party, he had a more prominent role as the council leader.

"I think the party brand has become toxic," he said. "I want to see a new leader who will show that we are the party of working people.

"I also want to see a change in faces in the Cabinet - I think some of the Cabinet members like Jacob Rees-Mogg just perpetuate this impression that we're a party for rich people, people who go to private school."

The local MP and Wales office minister David TC Davies joined calls for Mr Johnson to step down on Thursday morning, hours after the resignation of his boss, Welsh Secretary Simon Hart.

Mr Davies then turned down the offer of a promotion as he "didn't feel it would have been right" to replace Mr Hart.

So who will he back to move into Downing Street?

"You want me to give a name, but I won't," said a smiling Mr Davies.

"I will probably back the person who I think is the nicest of all of the candidates because I really don't care whether they're from: the so-called left wing, right wing, centre of the party - it doesn't matter to me.

"There'll be lots of good people putting their names forward, I don't care who wins, I want somebody who can bring the country together and bring the Conservative Party together."

Here in Monmouth and across the country, Conservatives know they have their work cut out to restore trust.

That process begins now.

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