Thanks to Andy Burnham, the ideological divide in British politics is much clearer and Kemi Badenoch has added to that clarity. In an uncompromising Party Conference speech yesterday, she has placed the Tories firmly on the Right of the political spectrum. No shuffle towards the centre-ground under Badenoch’s leadership.
Punchy but is Badenoch winning over moderates?
She has united the Tory Party with welfare cuts, inheritance tax and stamp duty cuts, leaving the ECHR, hostility to the EU and pushing the green agenda to the fringes. Or rather she has united today’s Tory Party. Those who are more centrist no longer belong even if there is a huge consensus on cutting welfare and freeing up business from rising taxes and red tape. Moderates either have nowhere to go or have to embrace a hopelessly disappointing Liberal Democrat Party.
Badenoch now calls it her Tory Party. She vets prospective parliamentary candidates and has banned anyone who disagrees with her views and policies. So much for free speech on the Right…
To be fair, Badenoch has got it right on Reform UK. She has gone on the attack with her analysis of their lack of probity, sleaze, racism and hopelessly (even socialist) economic policies. She highlighted clear differences between the Conservative Party and Reform and pledged never to unite with them. Who can blame her when the likes of the awful Robert Jenrick, thrown out of the Tory Party ahead of his defection, slimes his way from studio to studio defending the indefensible.
Badenoch has also got it right in realising belatedly it is the economy stupid. Much more time now seems to be spent on this topic rather than emphasising culture wars. Good.
So there we have it. With the implosion of the Greens, the slow slide in the fortunes of Reform, and the clear divide between Labour and Conservatives on most major policy areas it seems we might be veering back towards two party politics. In our dreams. Never count on the demise of Reform and also, courtesy of Burnham, there is proportional representation to think about…
