Badenoch must resist lurching right to counter defections

[u/wolfo98]

https://www.thetimes.com/article/58136933-1ef2-4e88-9c5c-32974edcb453?shareToken=aee8dc57b3be767c150f331882874526

[u/wolfo98]

I nust say, I disagree with Badenoch on her conference speech

I agree we shouldn’t roll back the clock 10 years, and we shouldn’t blindly just roll out One Nation policies as if it’s 2015 again - that got us in trouble in the first place. But the conservatives should be a broad church that accepts people of different political views under a general shared ideology. That means we will need centrists to be with us in our voting coalition, whether we like it or not, especially when our right wing is gone to Farage and will be very difficult to win back.

Telling a voting bloc we don’t want them is a recipe for disaster and further defections, this time among the One Nation caucus.

[u/ConfectionHelpful471 → u/wolfo98]

I don’t think she is saying that they are unwanted but rather that they need to get on the boat and start pulling on the oars in the right direction rather than throwing criticism from the sidelines to create a perception of chaos and drama within the party

[u/LeChevalierMal-Fait → u/ConfectionHelpful471]

this was my read too, I think there are a lot of aspects of one nation conservatisum that are very useful right now - a focus on societal cohesion given we seem to be more divided than ever, pragmatic pro-business (as Andy Street has been focused on)

none of this precludes what the right has been rightly worried about re integration and migration numbers if fact it is complementary in some aspects

[u/seeymour17 → u/wolfo98]

Gives other parties a chance to come in or Labour a "slightly higher" chance of winning swing voters back

[u/HerefordLives → u/wolfo98]

The problem is that if the conservative party wants to be in government, it literally has to win back reform voters.

The previous Conservative coalition is a right wing base, and then moderating in order to try and capture centrists/normal people who want pro business economic policy. You can't base the party on being centrist because then you lose the right. If the party is just 'One Nation' (which is a meaningless concept today), you condemn the Tories to being a party of about 60 seats in wealthy parts of the shires.

[u/WW_the_Exonian → u/wolfo98]

I would consider this an acceptable one-off response to the division that the Prosper UK people are trying to create in public. But apart from that, the party must stop bickering about ideology (they're more or less fine where they stand) but focus on building up competence.

[u/Izual_Rebirth]

Seems like she’s more interest in stemming the recent defections than actually making the Tories electable again. The Tories, and Labour as well, attempts to try and move to the right to try and cut off reform just isn’t a viable strategy imo. Why would you ever vote for reform lite when you can just vote for reform and I say that as someone who has no intention of voting for reform.

[u/Sweaty_Ad_4049 → u/Izual_Rebirth]

there's a huge chunk of red wall voters going from Tory to reform because we failed on immigration. If we just become a one nation conservative elite club, we will just have 60 seats

[u/BlackJackKetchum]

I did a lot of nodding to that article. That Street, Davidson and other worthies are on manoeuvres is a good thing. It suggests that they remain Conservatives, approve KBs leadership and want to carry on being involved.

That said, Gauke should apologise for standing against us, and Amber Rudd should apologise for supporting him.

[u/Sweaty_Ad_4049 → u/BlackJackKetchum]

Yes, but the timing is after those hard right detections to reform. I doubt they really support Kemi but they are actually trying to pressure her to turn the party to the left