I went to test opinions on the General Election betting scandal in Welshpool and this is what local people told me

The Shropshire Star hit the streets of Welshpool where we found a mix of annoyed working class Tories who are likely to switch to Reform over immigration and other opponents who have been energised to work hard to kick Mr Williams out.

Mr Williams won the Montgomery seat in the Boris Johnson Brexit-inspired General Election surge five years ago, sweeping in with a majority of 12,138 in the old seat.

And the Tory posters advertising his name for the vote next week are still displayed proudly around the patch, including at his party's constituency office in Welshpool, despite the official withdrawal of Tory party HQ's support.

While Montgomery is unique in Wales in has never electing a Labour MP there are strong Liberal Democrat traditions.

Indeed it elected Liberals and Liberal Democrats for much of the 20th century. Up until 2010 when the sitting Lib Dem MP Lembit Opik lost at the polls amid a personal scandal of his own.

Mr Williams, a local lad, grabbed the seat in 2019 when he took over from Conservative colleague Glyn Davies.

And Mr Williams can rely on the support of Simon Gibbs, who will be celebrating his 53rd birthday on polling day, July 4, by giving a little present of an X on a ballot paper to his favourite candidate.

"It has been blown out of all proportion," he said supping a pint in The Pheasant pub. "Craig has done a lot to help me so I will be voting for him. He has made a mistake as have others, including the Labour MP who bet against himself."

Mr Gibbs thinks the big issues are the NHS and immigration but he believes the Tories are best placed to deal with those challenges.

He was put off voting Labour after 1997 when he said tax changes for married allowances hit his family.

"The Tories have done the best they could."

But others at the pub, who did not wish to give their names reckoned the issue, which has also engulfed local Tory member of the Welsh Government, Russell George, was a "disgrace".

A 70-year-old former lorry driver said he thought it showed that some politicians were "making a few pounds out of it".

They believe there 'must have been collusion' and that they 'must have' used insider knowledge, which would make it a crime.

Mr Williams has confirmed that he had put a “flutter” on the date of the general election, before later admitting he had made a ‘huge error of judgement’. He says he intends to clear his name.

Another pub-goer who did not wish to be named took a different view.

"If he knew the date he would have put his house on it, not £100," he said.

A view was afoot that former Tories would not turn to left of centre parties to express their displeasure, but to Reform.

The issue of immigration was mentioned time and again, with views in support of the Conservatives' Rwanda policy to the more extreme "kick them out" and "Enoch Powell was right."

Julian Harte, aged 57, who has lived in Welshpool for 28 years after living in London.

"This is an island for God's sake, we should send them home," he said. "It breaks my heart."

Friends Kim Lloyd, 61, and Helen Evans, 58, were enjoying a break at the local Costa Coffee.

Kim said: "I voted for Craig last time, he is a local lad, but this time definitely no."

Helen also is not going to put her cross against the Williams name, which will still sit beside the Conservative logo on the ballot paper.

But as for who they will vote for is unsure, with both saying the issue did not reflect on politicians as a whole.

Kim said: "Why do we only see them at election time when they want your vote?

"But I haven't seen a politician yet, they haven't been to my door."

Gavin Cox, aged 54, from Welshpool recalls the days when the Lib Dems held the seat with Lembit Opik of Cheeky Girls fame.

A proud Lib Dem voter, and not a betting man, he said he was not actively campaigning until the betting scandal broke into the news. But now he feels energised to help get a Lib Dem win in the General Election.

"Williams has been chucked out by the Tory party but is hoping his large majority means he will win so he can sit on the back benches for a while as an independent before being re-admitted to the Tory party," he said.

"Do they think we are stupid? He should have just packed it up and gone.

"Even though Lembit liked a lark around he did some serious mileage for people in the constituency. Williams doesn't do half the work he did."

Mr Cox said he believes Boris Johnson ushered in an era of Conservative 'corruption'.

"Look at all the money wasted on PPE during the pandemic," he said. "We have had a gut full of it and I am talking of corruption.

"The people in this constituency won't stand for it any more," he added.

All the candidates standing in the 2024 General Election for the new Montgomeryshire & Glyndwr constituency are:

Jeremy Brignell-Thorp – Green Party, Oliver Lewis – Reform UK, Glyn Preston – Welsh Liberal Democrats, Elwyn Vaughan – Plaid Cymru, Craig Williams – Independent, and Steve Witherden – Labour.