This week, voters will flock to Wakefield for another by-election sparked by a political scandal.

Imran Ahmad Khan, who was elected in 2019 and became the city’s first Conservative in nearly 90 years, sexually assaulted a 15-year-old boy for 18 months beginning in 2008. After being sentenced to death, he was deported .

The episode shocked, resented and shocked people. Following the Brexit lift and continuing anxiety in Westminster, led by Boris Johnson, they demand stability.

So, despite having been elected for decades, it’s no wonder Labor sees this by-election as a “fresh start” for Wakefield.

The party needs to lower the Tory majority of 3,358 votes to return to the seats.

Doing so will give us enough ammunition to show that Johnson’s winning streak is over and that Labor is rebuilding the wonderful red wall of traditional seats that turned blue in the last election.

Indeed, recent polls show Labor 20 points ahead of the Conservatives in the June 23 contest.

Yet for all the hype about workers’ potential for landslides, some believe they never walk in the park and the surveys are exaggerated. Labor is just eight points ahead in an internal poll by The Sunday Times.

“People are shocked by Imran Khan and the reaction at the gate is very positive for workers,” said one of Britain’s leading labor activists.

“But the problem is that most of the Conservative votes don’t come to us and may not come out at all.

“I think it could be pretty close.”

Observers allow the candidate to think that the situation surrounding Khan’s departure should mean that Labor is moving forward, not to mention the troubled Conservative campaign that ousted Harold Shipman in front of voters.

But one aspect that seems to dampen voter enthusiasm is the leadership of Keir Starmer last week, who urged members of his Shadow Cabinet not to let the press know he was “sad.”

“There are fewer negative reactions at the door of the house than in 2019,” continues the activist. “But the main question we ask ourselves is: ‘What is Kir Starmer?’ “Voters find it dull and boring.”

The labor campaign at Wakefield got off to a rocky start after disagreements over the nomination process led to titles reminiscent of Jeremy Corbyn’s divisive era.

Local activists have accused the Center Party of organizing the stitches by blocking Deputy Counselor Jack Hemingway’s candidacy over past support for Starmer’s leftist predecessor.

Instead, Labor candidate Simon Wright, who was not born in Wakefield but lived in the town for 10 years, was selected as the Labor candidate, giving local party executives a campaign that only worked so far. Of the law.

Another unpredictable factor is the candidacy of Akef Akbar, a former Tory councilor who is now an independent member of Wakefield Council.

“Akbar is dynamic and a bit fragmented, but he is also very remarkable,” said a labor activist. “I don’t know how much our voice permeates, or if he wins the law vote.”

Scott, a local voter in his 50s, has always voted Labor but this year he will elect Akbar.

“I think it will be among the main parties,” he said. “Neither party is serving or serving Wakefield.”

When asked what Wakefield’s biggest problem was, Scott said downtown is a lack of investment.

“You have a store that opens and closes because the rent is too high and the store can’t afford it,” he said.

“With one of the leading Debenhams, he created an economy in Wakefield.

“There is no money coming into this country. Although we are cities, everyone seems to go to the big cities,” he added.

“Where we’re used to as a center. He’s dying now.”

His mother, Rosemary, also previously voted Labor, but was one of thousands of people who first voted Conservative in 2019 in support of Brexit.

But now he is dissatisfied with the Tories and does not think Brexit has been rewarded.

“I didn’t know how difficult it was,” he says.

“I’m not interested in Kir Starmer, but I’m going to vote for Labour.”

When asked for details, he said: He always has the character of a lawyer. He is very confused. “

Asked about his views on the by-election, a local lawyer said: “For obvious reasons I don’t think Labor is doing as well as it can.”

“”I think Kir Starmer is a good representation of himself, but he doesn’t seem to be running into non-Labour voters.

“I think it’s still Brexit,” he said. “It remains a hotbed of anti-Europe.

“I think the Labor Party will win, but the majority will decline. If they had Jack Hemingway on the board, I would have thought they would behave a little better.

“This is a typical job. You just have to secure a seat and find a way to get through it.”

Not surprisingly, Starmer hasn’t received the approval of Karen Slocom, a conservative voter who keeps faith with Johnson despite the party.

“I am frustrated because we are inside and it is not the intention,” he explains. “Everyone is back in Labor now.

“I’m not worried about Boris. Personally, and I don’t care who said what, doing what nobody should do.

“This is a cauldron kettle. I think everyone will immediately judge, but they look at their situation and don’t think about what they did for rock.”

“Others think only because he is a leader, not because of what they did.”

But shouldn’t he be at a higher level as prime minister?

“Keir Starmer is just as bad,” he says. It refers to the story of Virgate, where the leader can resign if he receives a ticket from the Durham police.

“He’s not going to be a better leader than Boris.

“Boris is a person like us. I think I might have gone a bit too far, but I’ll pick it up and move on.”

And that’s Boris, at least it’s Trier.