It all marks another lurch towards Reform UK’s tough border and anti-net-zero rhetoric, going much further rightward than Badenoch — who has tried to accommodate the ideological battle in her party when forming policy — has previously. The Conservatives are trailing Nigel Farage’s Reform UK by 14 points in the polls, and remain four points behind the deeply-unpopular ruling Labour Party.
But they also bring the party dramatically closer to the politics of Donald Trump, and away from the traditional liberal center ground of Tory — and U.K. — politics.
Trying to find the old ‘economy, stupid’ voters
In Manchester, senior Conservatives acknowledge it is a major departure for a party which has historically found success and prided itself on appealing to a broad church of voters. But after a landslide loss last year in which party was unceremoniously booted out of office after 14 years running the country, Tories are grappling with the reality that, as in the U.S., the center appears to have evaporated.
One Tory strategist, granted anonymity like others in this piece to speak candidly about internal party discussions, argued their policy pivot reflected that of the British public.
“The Overton Window has shifted,” the strategist said, referencing the model for understanding how ideas in society change over time and influence politics.
Former Home Secretary Grant Shapps, a self-confessed “centrist” who lost his seat to the ruling Labour Party at the last election, agreed it is crucial to address the political impact of undocumented migration as well as the reality on the ground: “I genuinely think that until a government, no matter what party, gets a grip of this issue, public trust in governance will never come back.”
