Can Kemi kickstart Tory fortunes in the new year?

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has insisted she will not be rushed into policy positions, claiming there is no quick fix” following the party’s historic defeat in July’s general election.

- SEAN O'GRADY

Despite the multiple missteps taken by the Labour government since the summer, and some “choppy” times, the Conservatives have made relatively little progress in the opinion polls, with Reform UK gaining momentum and Labour still in the lead as 2025 approaches.

Like other party leaders taking over in unpropitious circumstances, Badenoch will have to find a way to persuade the voters to grant her and her party a hearing. At the moment they see no reason to pay the Tories much heed. As Badenoch herself says in her latest interview, the British people “kicked out” the Conservatives because the party was not trusted and did not deliver.

She adds that building trust is “something that takes a while”...

What’s Badenoch’s strategy?

Travelling light would seem to be the essence of the new leader’s approach. As was clear during her leadership campaign, she prefers to keep to big, broad, traditional Conservative themes and make as few policy commitments as possible.

Nearer to the next general election she will no doubt be pushed by circumstances into making some definite policy commitments, but they too may be vague and hedged around with caveats – not unlike what we saw in Labour’s successful 2024 election campaign.

What are the dangers?