The last Tory standing on Richmond Council following the local elections has blamed the cover-up of rule breaking by Boris Johnson for the collapse in support.

Geoffrey Samuel even drew parallels to Richard Nixon and the Watergate affair where it was the cover-up of spying on political rivals that forced the US president from office in 1974.

Mr Samuel is thought to be the oldest person elected across the UK at the age of 91 and has seen many highs and lows for the party since first winning a council seat in 1957.

The former one-time deputy leader of the Council came third in Hampton North and so narrowly prevented a clean sweep for the Lib-Dems and Greens.

A number of fellow party members labelled themselves as 'Local Conservatives' in order to distance themselves from Boris Johnson's party in Westminster, however this tactic failed to save their seats in Richmond borough.

Nub News put a series of questions to Cllr Samuel about the collapse of the Tory vote, which means the Council now has 48 Lib-Dem councillors, five Greens and himself.

Did you expect the Conservatives to win seats and take control of the Council?

No, I did not expect to win back control.

Could you offer some comments on the reasons for the fact the Conservatives lost so many seats?

The losses were due to two factors. The first is that it has usually been true that many – often most – people vote on national issues and the tide is against us at the moment for all the obvious reasons.

Many people shared the view that we were an ineffective opposition.

Have you ever seen anything like this before?

In two successive previous elections, the Conservatives were reduced to 3 and then 4 seats: never one!

Do you think it had any connection to the behaviour of Boris Johnson? If so, can you say what specifically it was about his behaviour?

Yes. I don't think that 'partygate' as such was the significant factor but the cover-up was. Remember Nixon!

Some Conservatives stood as 'Local Conservatives'. Did you think it was a wise approach?

Many Conservatives wanted formally to distance themselves from Boris and this was their way of doing it: but did it help?

As a lone Conservative on the Council, what will your priorities be?

My priority is my constituents. To be realistic I am not going to win any votes in Council or Committee. But supporting local people, winning things for local people, engaging with local people by personal visits, my newsletter, e-mail and phone actually produces results and can help in a practical and positive way.

If we had a system of proportional representation in the voting system, Richmond would still have a number of Conservative councillors. What are your views on the idea of adopting PR?

I have never supported PR. The hung Parliament under Theresa May proves once again that the British like clear, firm Government.

Do you have any messages for the Conservative candidates who lost their seats?

Yes. We have to change … In a Western democracy all parties, whilst adhering totally to the basic principles and beliefs, need, as it were, to reinvent themselves periodically. The Conservative Party of the red wall is not the Conservative Party of the shires. 

Do you have any view on how long it will take for the Conservatives to win back control of Richmond?

The danger in politics is that when you are in you never contemplate being out: when out, you can be over-pessimistic about being in.

Do you expect to still be serving when it happens?

I have said openly that this is my last Council. I shall be 95 in 2026 and fully expect to be firing on all cylinders but not at 98 or 99.