Binyamin Jayson is a writer focusing on UK politics and Conservative thinking.
I would classify myself as a true blue Tory; not turquoise, not orange.
To our right we have divisive populists; to our left, wets in denial. This article sets out why I oppose Prosper UK acting as a pressure group, despite my genuine sympathies with one-nation Conservatism. Like many who have joined Prosper, I am sceptical of Trump, uneasy about culture wars, and deeply opposed to populism that stokes division. But despite this I believe the emergence of Prosper UK, as it currently operates, is profoundly harmful to the Conservative Party.
Our political identity
It took over a year of serious thought for Kemi Badenoch to clearly articulate what the Conservative Party now stands for. That process mattered. You cannot persuade others until you know yourself.
At Conference, she set out a platform of low tax, low intervention, low regulation, lower immigration, and scrapping net zero. These are not radical departures. They are classic Conservative positions, and they are positions around which the party should feel confident rallying.
Some are uncomfortable with the sharper rhetoric on immigration and net zero. I understand that instinct. But rhetoric does not exist in a vacuum. It often reflects reality. And the reality of Britain in the mid-2020s is very different from that of the Cameron years.
The country has changed
Over the last five years, there has been a deep cultural, economic and political shift. To pretend otherwise, is to behave as though we are still living in the politics of the early 2010s, is not just naïve, it is political suicide.
Britain today is not Britain in 2010. The pressures are different. The data is different. The public mood is different. Serious Conservatism means responding to the facts on the ground, not retreating into nostalgia. Kemi’s ideas are not ideological indulgences. They are conservative answers to contemporary problems. And they are correct for the time.
Prosper UK and the centre that no longer exists
The goal of Prosper UK appears to be to drag the Conservative Party back to the “centre” as ConservativeHome columnist David Gauke makes clear today. But the centre has moved. The people pushing this project are stuck in the Cameron years, in denial about how much the political landscape has changed.
Even Labour has hardened its rhetoric on immigration. Not out of conviction, but out of necessity. That alone should tell us something. We do not need Prosper UK to help us discover our uniqueness. We are already distinct from Reform, and we are distinct in ways that matter.
Why we are not Reform
We are more fiscally conservative. Reform has a deeply divided economic base; Conservatives do not. That gives us the unique credibility to deal seriously with welfare reform, taxation, and the size of the state.
We reject identity politics. We judge people on the content of their character, not their skin colour, birthplace or religion. To our left and right are movements that obsess over identity rather than merit. We reject populism. We do not inflame anger to win votes. We do not trade in grievance, toxicity or division. We have a coherent plan to deal with the issues our nation faces.
And crucially, we do not need to prove we are different from Reform by moving leftwards. That is a category error. Our distinction is already clear.
We should stick with clarity not switch to compromise.
We should not abandon our principles to lure back figures like Rory Stewart. Nor should we chase Reform voters by mimicking Reform rhetoric. We are not Liberal Democrats. We are not Reformers. We are Conservatives.
That means believing there has been a climate change while recognising that Britain currently lacks the financial capacity for a full net-zero project. It means recognising immigration can be positive, while admitting that two decades of near-open borders have shattered social cohesion and eroded a national identity.
It means believing in tearing away red tape so businesses can innovate, employ and grow. It means incentivising start-ups through low corporation tax. It means creating an environment where wealth is not driven offshore, but invested at home. It means a small state that actually works. It means tackling inflation and unemployment through making a more suitable environment for businesses. It means confronting Islamism head on. And it means being transparent with the electorate.
That is my Conservatism.
Unity, not psychodrama
Kemi Badenoch has, at last, found her feet. It would be deeply unhelpful if, at precisely this moment, she is forced to fight another internal faction, this time to her left. At Prosper’s launch, Andy Street argued the party needed to communicate a more economy-focused approach. But that is exactly what Kemi has been doing. In recent months, the Conservatives have spoken more about the economy than any other issue, and rightly so.
One-nation Conservatives must understand this: we can be economically focused while also speaking clearly about immigration, net zero, and the failure of certain institutions. These are not contradictions at all.
If Prosper UK works with Kemi; supporting her leadership rather than pressuring her to retreat to an imaginary centre-ground, then I would enthusiastically welcome that. That is how we build a winning coalition.
But if Prosper exists to force policy change, it will alienate members, fracture the party further, and push a second wave of MPs and activists into the arms of Reform.
That would be a gift to our opponents.
It is incumbent on Conservatives to unite behind the values and policies Kemi has set out, and to make the case for them with confidence.
Enough with the psychodrama. Enough with the factions. The country is in a position too precarious to hand over to incompetent delinquents in Reform or incompetent delusionals in Labour.
Britain needs a serious, robust, centre-right voice; one that believes in a small state, strong borders, fiscal discipline, and national cohesion. Let’s unite as Conservatives.
True Conservatives.
Binyamin Jayson is a writer focusing on UK politics and Conservative thinking.
I would classify myself as a true blue Tory; not turquoise, not orange.
To our right we have divisive populists; to our left, wets in denial. This article sets out why I oppose Prosper UK acting as a pressure group, despite my genuine sympathies with one-nation Conservatism. Like many who have joined Prosper, I am sceptical of Trump, uneasy about culture wars, and deeply opposed to populism that stokes division. But despite this I believe the emergence of Prosper UK, as it currently operates, is profoundly harmful to the Conservative Party.
Our political identity
It took over a year of serious thought for Kemi Badenoch to clearly articulate what the Conservative Party now stands for. That process mattered. You cannot persuade others until you know yourself.
At Conference, she set out a platform of low tax, low intervention, low regulation, lower immigration, and scrapping net zero. These are not radical departures. They are classic Conservative positions, and they are positions around which the party should feel confident rallying.
Some are uncomfortable with the sharper rhetoric on immigration and net zero. I understand that instinct. But rhetoric does not exist in a vacuum. It often reflects reality. And the reality of Britain in the mid-2020s is very different from that of the Cameron years.
The country has changed
Over the last five years, there has been a deep cultural, economic and political shift. To pretend otherwise, is to behave as though we are still living in the politics of the early 2010s, is not just naïve, it is political suicide.
Britain today is not Britain in 2010. The pressures are different. The data is different. The public mood is different. Serious Conservatism means responding to the facts on the ground, not retreating into nostalgia. Kemi’s ideas are not ideological indulgences. They are conservative answers to contemporary problems. And they are correct for the time.
Prosper UK and the centre that no longer exists
The goal of Prosper UK appears to be to drag the Conservative Party back to the “centre” as ConservativeHome columnist David Gauke makes clear today. But the centre has moved. The people pushing this project are stuck in the Cameron years, in denial about how much the political landscape has changed.
Even Labour has hardened its rhetoric on immigration. Not out of conviction, but out of necessity. That alone should tell us something. We do not need Prosper UK to help us discover our uniqueness. We are already distinct from Reform, and we are distinct in ways that matter.
Why we are not Reform
We are more fiscally conservative. Reform has a deeply divided economic base; Conservatives do not. That gives us the unique credibility to deal seriously with welfare reform, taxation, and the size of the state.
We reject identity politics. We judge people on the content of their character, not their skin colour, birthplace or religion. To our left and right are movements that obsess over identity rather than merit. We reject populism. We do not inflame anger to win votes. We do not trade in grievance, toxicity or division. We have a coherent plan to deal with the issues our nation faces.
And crucially, we do not need to prove we are different from Reform by moving leftwards. That is a category error. Our distinction is already clear.
We should stick with clarity not switch to compromise.
We should not abandon our principles to lure back figures like Rory Stewart. Nor should we chase Reform voters by mimicking Reform rhetoric. We are not Liberal Democrats. We are not Reformers. We are Conservatives.
That means believing there has been a climate change while recognising that Britain currently lacks the financial capacity for a full net-zero project. It means recognising immigration can be positive, while admitting that two decades of near-open borders have shattered social cohesion and eroded a national identity.
It means believing in tearing away red tape so businesses can innovate, employ and grow. It means incentivising start-ups through low corporation tax. It means creating an environment where wealth is not driven offshore, but invested at home. It means a small state that actually works. It means tackling inflation and unemployment through making a more suitable environment for businesses. It means confronting Islamism head on. And it means being transparent with the electorate.
That is my Conservatism.
Unity, not psychodrama
Kemi Badenoch has, at last, found her feet. It would be deeply unhelpful if, at precisely this moment, she is forced to fight another internal faction, this time to her left. At Prosper’s launch, Andy Street argued the party needed to communicate a more economy-focused approach. But that is exactly what Kemi has been doing. In recent months, the Conservatives have spoken more about the economy than any other issue, and rightly so.
One-nation Conservatives must understand this: we can be economically focused while also speaking clearly about immigration, net zero, and the failure of certain institutions. These are not contradictions at all.
If Prosper UK works with Kemi; supporting her leadership rather than pressuring her to retreat to an imaginary centre-ground, then I would enthusiastically welcome that. That is how we build a winning coalition.
But if Prosper exists to force policy change, it will alienate members, fracture the party further, and push a second wave of MPs and activists into the arms of Reform.
That would be a gift to our opponents.
It is incumbent on Conservatives to unite behind the values and policies Kemi has set out, and to make the case for them with confidence.
Enough with the psychodrama. Enough with the factions. The country is in a position too precarious to hand over to incompetent delinquents in Reform or incompetent delusionals in Labour.
Britain needs a serious, robust, centre-right voice; one that believes in a small state, strong borders, fiscal discipline, and national cohesion. Let’s unite as Conservatives.
True Conservatives.