The Conservatives appear on course for a European election drubbing after a barely active campaign in which some local parties actively decided not to help.
Some Tory associations took the decision not to campaign, with one even holding a formal vote on ruling it out, while “despondent” activists tired after local elections are choosing holidays over the election, party sources have told HuffPost UK.
Several figures conceded that members would be voting for Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party due to anger at Theresa May and the party’s failure to deliver EU withdrawal on time.
And Conservative central headquarters (CCHQ) has done little to help with money short and an admittance of probable crushing defeat, sources claimed.
It comes as Britain votes on Thursday with May on the brink of being ousted as prime minister and the Tories in a dismal fifth place in one IpsosMORI poll on just 9%, behind leaders the Brexit Party on 35%, as well as the Liberal Democrats, Labour and even the Greens.
One figure close to the party’s MEPs, who wished to remain anonymous, described it as an “election in denial” and a dog’s breakfast, and named one Tory association - Norwich - which passed a formal motion “saying they are not going to help in European elections”.
“Not only had none of them doing anything, no one had any intention of doing anything,” the source said.
“There is complete blanket write-off on this. If you speak to people quietly they all tell you they are voting for the Brexit Party.”
They described May’s campaign launch in Bristol six days before polling day as “a joke” with South West MEP Ashley Fox looking “very uncomfortable” next to the PM.
CCHQ was said to be “doing the absolute minimum” because its funding has “dried up” as Remainer and Brexiteer donors get “fed up” of the delays to EU withdrawal.
Voters were now flocking to Farage.
“You’ve either got to be serious about this or you’re not, what are you doing?” they said.
“We were told 108 times we were leaving on March 29 and the one single issue which people really understand ... they may not understand the difference between a customs union and a free trade agreement and so on ... the one thing they do understand is we were promised we’d be leaving on March 29 and we haven’t done so.
“It’s anger at not delivering, having an unnecessary election, wasting yet more money.”
Phil Sagar, vice president of the Grantham and Stamford Conservatives, admitted the party was struggling to get activists out.
“There’s a feeling of ‘is it really worth it for the European elections if we’re going to lose anyway and it’s a massive protest vote?’
“There’s a bit of despondency and a bit of acceptance we’re going to get a drubbing like at the local elections.”
On CCHQ, he said: “I think the party itself has accepted it’s going to get a drubbing and that’s a bit sad really.”
One Tory campaigner in a northern party agreed that CCHQ had been “a little quiet” but said local activists were “taking a short break” anyway after working “extremely hard during the local elections” earlier in May.
“This is an election following an election and a lot of our activists worked extremely hard during the local election, which didn’t come to fruition, so we’re just making sure we’re campaigning all the way through the summer period, all through autumn, all through winter - we’ve got to take a break at some point.
“To be honest, as well we’ve got two bank holiday weekends and it’s logistically and practically difficult to get people out at this time.”
One MP who is involved in campaigning said they did not blame voters backing the Brexit Party.
They said: “I campaigned to leave, voted to leave - if I was sitting there looking in without enough knowledge about it would I want to protest? Maybe I would.
“Because I know a lot of people who are Conservative minded are saying you’ve let us down, they want to register that vote. I can understand where they are coming from, even if I disagree.”
A CCHQ source admitted “some associations” were not campaigning but insisted that European elections are usually quiet for the party, pointing to 2014 polls.
But they admitted: “This wasn’t our ideal turn of events. This is a difficult political moment.”
They also pointed out that the unexpected and late calling of the election, after May was forced to delay Brexit, meant the Tories had already spent money on general campaigning which would have been counted towards the election.
The party has been campaigning continuously due to local elections and mayoral elections, they said.
“If you were campaigning from scratch you would know that and you would therefore think about your allocations and what you are spending.”
And they dismissed suggestions that the party was short on cash, insisting 2018 was a “record year for fundraising”.
Norwich Conservatives did not reply to a request for comment.