Hitchin MP Bim Afolami has criticised PM Boris Johnson after warning that the government is 'close to losing the benefit of the doubt' with voters after weeks of sleaze allegations.

Mr Afolami warned of a 'gradual and then sudden decline into defeat' after fierce criticism has been aimed the Prime Minister and the Conservative Party following the Owen Paterson scandal.

Mr Afolami sided with the government on the original vote to amend the bill in order that Paterson - who was found guilty of breaching lobbying rules - would avoid censure.

The move backfired spectacularly, causing a huge outcry in his constituency including furious Hitchin Nub News readers.

Hitchin's Parliamentarian then doubled down on the fury only days later, by voting with the government on the so-called 'Sewage Bill'.

Mr Afolami agreed with the government concession that aimed to cut the dumping of raw sewage into waterways.

Critics of the government and Mr Afolami's line insist the move does not compel water firms to take action quickly enough - meaning that dumping will continue for many years to come.

With Hitchin and North Herts containing many chalk streams that would be affected, Mr Afolami's decision could significantly impact our local environment - once again creating anger among many in our area.

However, writing in Conservative Home website, dubbed the 'Home of Conservatism', to the surprise of many seasoned observers, Mr Afolami took a potshot at boss Johnson, appearing to distance himself from the PM.

"[There is a] nagging sense in the public that we should be better governed," Mr Afolami said, adding: "And since the Prime Minister is at the apex of the system, he will carry most of the can...the real complaint from the public is that they don't think that MPs and the government are doing their jobs effectively enough.

"Dare I say it, I think they are right.

"If the Conservative Party is to maintain public trust, we are going to have to make some changes, and make them quickly.

"The public feel battered and exhausted by politics once again."

While the General Election is still more than two years away - Hitchin's parliamentarian sits on a majority of more than 6,000 following the 2019 election - there has been a tangible sense of a rising frustration with Mr Afolami and his party among constituents in Hitchin recently.

With possible changes to the boundaries of the Hitchin and Harpenden constituency, as well as the rapidly changing demographic in our town - as more and more people move to the area from London and elsewhere - Mr Afolami's majority is under threat in 2024.

While the 12,000 majority Mr Afolami held in 2017 is a distant memory, not to mention the whopping 20,000 the Conservatives held under his predecessor Peter Lilley in 2015, the battle for the seat promises to be an enthralling contest.

Perhaps conscious of this, Mr Afolami publicly chastised the PM for the first time.

"I believe a major part of Boris Johnson's appeal across the country in December 2019 was the fact that he was not a typical politician from the political class," Mr Afolami explained.

"Many voted for him as Prime Minister because he was and is different to the rest of the political class and the 'old' Conservative Party. We need to remember that.

"The danger of this political moment is that the Conservative Government may be close to losing a very precious thing – the benefit of the doubt.

"I don't know for how long this will be the case, but I do not believe that our fall in poll support to the mid 30s will be temporary, nor is it just about this 'sleaze' issue."

With Labour opening up six-point polling lead over Tories as the sleaze row continues to dog Johnson, Mr Afolami cautioned colleagues, in a move that will shock those who have followed his career.

"There are many structural factors at work," he said.

"Memories of the vaccine bounce have long faded. Taxes have risen and are due to rise further. Lest we forget, an election in late 2023-4 would be 13 to 14 years since the Conservatives came into office.

"Due to Covid and other factors, we are likely to enter that election with government debt higher than in 2019, NHS backlogs still high, and household incomes still stretched.

"'Time for a change' will be a powerful rallying cry, despite Keir Starmer's uselessness. It will not be an easy election to win outright.

"If we add to these factors a public sense that we are not in politics for the right reasons, or that we aren't focused on practically improving people's lives, we will get hammered at the next election and deservedly so."

Mr Afolami concluded: "We need to prove that we are worthy of the trust that was placed in us in 2019 and show we are focused on delivering for the public.

"Unless we do that, we will go the way of previous long-running administrations – 1964 (13 years), 2010 (13 years), 1997 (18 years) – a gradual and then sudden decline into defeat."

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