Better late than never... in so many ways

Other stuff and The York Dante Meeting Day 1

….. again

I'm always thrilled to see Kemi Badenoch doing important Tory things. Organising the troops, showing the country her strong leadership skills, making herself electable, and perhaps even leaving people with a lasting impression of the possibilities and benefits that will flow when she is in No 10.

Yesterday she announced a review of the Conservative Party's recent local election losses. In an article published on ConHome, she offered her “deepest apologies” to the affected councillors and outlined the scope of the review. The investigation will encompass:

• Party activities at both local and national levels.

• Performance analysis across various geographical regions.

• The involvement of different Conservative Party stakeholders (Professional, Voluntary, and Parliamentary).

• The “Candidate Journey,” from recruitment and selection to election results.

The review will be conducted by co-chairman Nigel Huddleston, shadow communities secretary Kevin Hollinrake, and shadow crime minister Matt Vickers, with a target completion date of the end of June.

Looking ahead, Our Kem expressed her optimism, stating, “… we’ve been here before, and we’ve always come back stronger. I still remember the bad set of local elections in May 2019, swiftly followed by the European elections later that month, when we polled just under 9 per cent. It felt like our time in government was over. Yet, Boris pulled out a historic majority that same year.” A couple of thoughts sprang to mind on reading that.

Firstly, I think we can all be confident that Groucho Huddlestone will bring a depth of integrity to the report that will leave no stone unturned in routing out the cause of this catastrophic, political ELE. (Extinction Level Event). Undoubtedly, the report will remind us, as he did on the Today programme last Friday, that:

“At the end of the day, Reform’s golden strategy is the destruction of the Conservative Party, and they don’t share many of the core values and principles that we hold.”

He then went on to explain exactly how the Tories work when it comes to the maintenance of proper old-fashioned Tory concepts;

“We’re using our time in opposition wisely; we’re developing a whole new set of principles and policies.”

Yes folks, Groucho Huddlestone has strong principles, and if you don't like them... well, he has others, and they’re just being developed at the moment.

Luckily, Kemi’s reference to Boris’ massive success at the ballot box underpins a survey last week by More in Common, which suggested that a Tory party led by Ms Badenoch would lose to Reform. (Could have told you that: Ed). However, the only way the Conservatives can defeat Reform UK, is via a Boris Johnson comeback. Almost 60% of Tory voters, and half of those who back Reform, said a comeback by Mr Johnson would be good for the Conservatives. A third of Labour voters also agreed.

The Tories, lest we forget, lost 674 seats, and all 15 councils they were defending. Reform seized control of 10 town halls, won two elected mayors and a new MP. Luckily, it’s not all bad news for Our Kem because her main leadership rival, Robert Jenrick, the shadow justice secretary, is even less popular with voters, the results suggest.

In the hypothetical polling, Mr Johnson increases the Conservative vote by five points and reduces the Reform vote by six points. He converts an eight point lead for Mr Farage’s party into a three point Tory lead.

As dedicated readers will know, we have been suggesting for some time, that the Tories start to behave like a political party at work: rather than a bunch of squabbling politicos waiting for the next bloodbath, aka Leadership Campaign.

So we were also pleased to see that the Conservative Policy Forum (CPF), the party's internal think tank, is also having some major tinkering under the bonnet. In an email, voluntary director Frances Lasok acknowledged delays in policy paper production, stating, “We are working with CCHQ on the next round.” Hmm. I rather thought that apart from the doorman, a handyman, and three secretaries, there weren’t that many left inside CCHQ Towers, after a vicious round of job cuts.

Key changes to policy formation include:

• Regional CPF Groups: Policy contributors will be organised into regional groups, reporting to Regional Ambassadors to enhance local engagement.

• Shadow Cabinet Support: Shadow Cabinet members will receive dedicated teams of CPF members with relevant expertise.

• Local Policy Development: Collaboration with the Conservative Councillors Association will prioritize local policy development, deemed crucial after the election results.

• Youth Engagement: The former Devon MP Selaine Saxby will lead a new initiative targeting voters under 40. Her historic social media profile is a little weak for yoof-engagement given her views on school lunches during holidays.

  • In October 2020, Saxby was criticised for stating in a Facebook post that she hoped if local businesses were able to offer free food, then they would not be seeking further government help.

  • This followed an Opposition EDM to extend free school meals over holidays

  • She later deleted her Facebook post, stating her comments had been taken “out of context”. She said in a statement that she regretted any offence that “may have been caused”, and also criticised “a small but hostile element” on social media who she said had been “aggressive and personally abusive” towards her and her staff.

Overall, this sudden rushing around the undergrowth perhaps indicates that Our Kem has finally been convinced that the Leader of the Opposition has to [a] have and [b] be willing to discuss, policy alternatives to Labour's?

Talking of being happy to create something out of nothing (and even more so when, as it has done recently, our creation shows a small profit) …