He might resist the framing, but when you strip away the labels and simply ask what the correct answers are to policy issues, you end up with a programme that looks – on most of the biggest subjects – rather conservative. Blair seems to be moving close to Badenoch’s position.
The surest way to lose the electorate is to repeat the mistake of believing that a different face at the despatch box will save the party. Let Kemi finish the job of rebuilding and rehabilitating the party, and to give voters a reason to come home.
If we’re to convince people the Party itself has changed it must be reflected in every single aspect of our approach. Now unassailable in her leadership, Kemi must be ruthless.
The Conservatives will not be pivotal in Makerfield, but the Tory Party is beginning to wonder about how Makerfield could prove pivotal for them. Over the past week numerous Conservative MPs and CCHQ officials have raised the prospect of an early general election.
Twin by-elections have unleashed a fresh discourse: should there be some sort of electoral pact between the Tories and Reform? The option has been floated by two Conservatives – one current MP, one former MP – as a way of consolidating the right and holding back Burnham, whom they regard as disastrous for the economy.
The battle for the soul of this country will be won when British Jews are able to go about their daily lives without the fear of antisemitic attacks.
The political map has been redrawn, and the Conservatives are becoming a party of only wealthy and older voters. This is a dangerous development for the party, and the cliff edge is moving closer.
The Tory Leader’s ratings continue to soar and it seems there is broad contentment with the wider shadow cabinet, but still Westminster talks about a reshuffle of fresh faces.
If nothing changes, the most positive outcome is that the Conservative Party ends up propping up a Nigel Farage government, and Kemi will come to those negotiations with almost nothing to bargain with.
The country is fed up. Fed up with politicians promising but not delivering. Fed up with seeing their taxes spent on things they don’t want – from far flung aid projects to hand-outs to migrants. Fed up with working all hours and having nothing left at the end of the month.
We know that there are left-wing voters who will tactically vote Conservative if we can prove we are best placed to beat Reform. There is a coalition there for us.
If the Conservative Party becomes an anti-Reform cartel, it will not defeat Reform. It will vindicate it. Worcestershire should be treated as a warning, not a model. And on that, Kemi was right to draw the line
As rumours swirl around Wes Streeting, the Government’s legislative agenda looks thinner than ever. The Tory leader offered something Westminster has seen little of lately: an argument about governing.
The Tories are still staring up a mountain with a long hard slog to go, and could still find another grinning and laughing at them from above when they get closer to the top, but the point is they aren’t going backwards. The path they choose next is the vital bit.
We took back control and then ran away from it. Before declaring Brexit a failure, perhaps we should first have the courage to properly attempt it. Not half-implement it. Not dilute it. Not spend a decade trapped between old systems and new ambitions.