Crucial blue wall seat for Boris in the determined hands of Nadeem

BORIS Johnson’s political future could hinge on whether Nadeem Ahmed can stop Labour winning back the Yorkshire seat ofwakefield on June 23.

The Conservatives are fighting for the seat after the sentencing of former Tory MP Imran Ahmad Khan for sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy.

A bad loss would trigger claims that the partygate-battered Prime Minister no longer commands the loyalty of former Labour voters who backed the Tories in 2019. But a victory would boost Mr Johnson’s fortunes and strengthen hopes that voters in what was once known as the red wall are sticking with the Conservatives.

If Mr Ahmed, a 42-year-old with a background as an English teacher, is feeling the pressure he hides it well and does not regard the PM as a liability.

“Boris is our biggest asset,” he told the Sunday Express.

Wakefield turned red in every general election from 1932 until 2019, but Mr Ahmed argues voters are not about to return to Labour.

Pointing to the example of his father, who came to the UK from Pakistan to work in textile mills, he said: “He switched from Labour years ago because he’d had enough of people telling him how to vote. Working class people inwakefield have had enough of being told what to do by Labour.

“They want freedom, they want to deal with their own issues, they want their children to do well.”

When asked if the Covid-era parties in No10 had come up, he said a woman in Horbury told him: “Stop talking about cakes. I’ve had enough of cakes.”

He also claims the scandal involving the former MP has not tarred all Conservatives, with people saying:

“He was a bad apple in a big tree, which is the Conservative party.”

Rishi Sunak recently joined him on the campaign trail and Mr Ahmed said the response demonstrated the Chancellor’s popularity. “If we’d kept him there an hour he’d still have been doing selfies,” he said.

So far from seeing 2019 as a one-off victory for thetories in the north, he is determined to play his role in achieving a lasting transformation.

He insisted: “We are building a blue wall here and we’re not going to let Labour

knock it down.”