Badenoch is trying to match Farage step for step – but it’s a dance of death for the Tories | Polly Toynbee
At conference here in Birmingham I found a small battalion of centrist remainers with a vision of the Conservative party to come You can walk all the way from Somerset to Sussex without crossing a Tory-run constituency, if you wish. You could also travel through each of the counties of Wiltshire, Hampshire, Dorset and Surrey without setting foot in Tory lands. They are now mainly Liberal…
In Birmingham, I came across a handful of centrist remainers who envision a future Conservative party. You can journey from Somerset to Sussex without crossing any Tory-run constituencies, or traverse Wiltshire, Hampshire, Dorset, and Surrey without encountering Tory lands. These regions are now predominantly Liberal Democrat, with no Tory MP present in Oxfordshire.
It seems Kemi Badenoch is oblivious to this reality; her actions appear meticulously crafted to ensure these areas remain out of reach, as she attempts to attract Reform voters – yet, this strategy has proven unsuccessful. The more she tilts right, the more she alienates moderate home counties, according to political experts. Those who support Reform are unlikely to return, claim political analysts Tim Bale and Rob Ford, along with numerous other authorities in the field.
To reclaim the "blue wall", the key to a Tory majority, appears impossible, insists Polly Toynbee, a Guardian columnist.
Written by urgent.news from Guardian Business's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
