The opening speeches by the Tory leader, Kemi Badenoch, and her shadow chancellor, Mel Stride, to their party conference were loud with conviction but thin on substance. They felt like ritual incantations in a world turned upside down. Mr Stride’s pitch – £47bn of savings via welfare cuts and business rebates – is an empty promise given the party’s standing in the opinion polls. But it is a tenet of modern-day Toryism to preach austerity to the poor and indulgence to the wealthy.
The Tory party faces an existential moment. If an election were held tomorrow, some polls have the Conservatives in fourth place in terms of seats – having never finished lower than second in a general election since the 1830s. Their voters are turning away to support Reform UK or just not turning out. But why have we got here? A backward glance offers an explanation.
