Inside Badenoch’s bet that young voters still believe in hard work and reward – while bringing fun back to the Young Conservatives.
If a Tory candidate is reckoned more capable of beating Reform — as is plausible in parts of the country that were, until recently, True Blue — then tactical voting could make all the difference.
Older couples delay downsizing because they cannot justify the cost, while younger families cannot move up. Fewer homes come to market, so prices remain high and supply tight. Britain’s housing market has become a game of musical chairs with the music turned off.
We are making policy that does not mortgage Gen Z’s future, but instead helps Gen Z get a mortgage.
My latest poll looks at all these issues, plus whether the party leaders will still be in post this time next year.
My focus groups this month were in Sheffield with Labour voters interested in other left parties; Bradford, with Labour voters tempted by Reform; Peterborough, with former Tories who switched to Reform in 2024; and Northampton, with former Tories who switched to Labour.
Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves are welcome to copy this policy if they wish. But they won’t because they don’t believe in aspiration. We do.
Blair’s ambition to send half of young people to university is undoubtedly one of his most damaging legacies. It has weakened the strength and value of a degree and has forced British companies to look overseas to plug the technical skills gap.
Every doorstep conversation, every leaflet, every social media post, every donation, every phone call counts. When times are tough, we don’t jump ship. You’re either up for the fight for our values – or you’re not. Hard yards win the day.
For months her team tried to steady jittery colleagues with the promise of policies. On that count, the conference was a success. But the bigger anxiety remains: ideas are one thing, a narrative quite another. What do the Conservatives stand for?
Kemi Badenoch resisted the temptation to make wild and unrealistic promises, but we shall have to see how seriously voters take sensible proposals from a party polling below 20 per cent.
Badenoch released her supporters from fear and gloom, enabling them to defy pundits who see no hope for the Conservatives.
Her departure, in order not to be a distraction to the business of government, after a week of being a distraction from the business of government, will make the business of government harder.
The proposals reportedly under consideration at the Treasury is for an annual percentage levy on the sale value of a house – but all existing housing wealth would be grandfathered in.
Reforming VAT in a first Conservative budget would create the basis for accelerated economic growth and be consistent with the reforming approach shown by the best of our predecessors.