The political discourse took a rather strange turn last week when, leader of the opposition Kemi Badenoch, announced that she didn’t like eating sandwiches. In fact, she can’t stand the things, denouncing that they ‘weren’t real food’ and that ‘lunch is for wimps’, if she were to allow herself the opportunity for a midday replenish then steak was the only thing deemed adequate.
Although this screamed of some Christmas triviality, where the hacks have lost interest and those within government are counting down the days when they are not forced to spend any more time in Westminster, it did speak to a wider desperation from Badenoch. This was an anecdote straight out of the Nigel Farage playbook – “look at me guys, guys! I eat steak just like you ! I’m normal just like you!” The lust for politicians to seem ‘normal’ has really reached unbearable levels over the past several months.
The Conservative leader has, frankly, looked incredibly average and out of her depth since taking over the party. The shaking hands at her first PMQ’s were understandable but to attack Labour last week over their immigration record in office merely five months after they’d taken over, when her party had overseen levels reach record highs was a tragic and desperate line. Even the staunchest of Badenoch supporters surely could see that offensive had no legs to stand on, it was pitiful, and demonstrated that, perhaps, she is gravely out of her depth when it comes to thinking more broadly about where to hurt and expose Labour.
There must be a greater articulation on policy from Badenoch, substantive attack lines against Labour’s decisions that are moulded and then deployed over a prolonged period, not just resorting to tired clichés. Starmer, for all his critics, was incredibly effective at doing this in opposition. His premiership has been solely unspectacular so far, he is no wordsmith or a man able to really espouse great political dexterity, but he is totally entrenched to towing the line and not deviating from the script – in that sense the message does get across. Badenoch’s erratic outbursts – and that is what they look like – evoke the spirit of Liz Truss, someone who seems to be totally insulated from outside influence, wedded to the idea that their prerogative is the one that must be followed.
The message is not getting across – what do they stand for, what do they want people to see them as?
Badenoch is playing into the hands of opponents with her attack lines. For a man completely absent in political charisma, Starmer is being given free pass after pass, and for Reform, well, Farage is sat there, laughing, every move she seems to make just falls into the lap of his party. The Conservatives, if they want to still be credible in 2029, must stop making it easier for the Clacton MP and his rabble. Reform look like the US army in terms of their strategy and coherent attack lines compared to the Tories. Even with just 5 MPs it is clearly apparent that each has their own remit on how they are going to hurt the two major parties day after day. Richard Tice and Rupert Lowe, for all their babble on speaking for the people – because they are people, cannot be discredited for their political acumen. Only months into stepping in the House of Commons the two are serious and canny operators, knowing which and when to push various buttons.
Who is doing this for the Conservatives? Could anyone name anything remotely interesting or profound that Kemi Badenoch has said since taking over?
The furore over the changes to farming inheritance tax and the subsequent marches in Whitehall, it was Reform, not the Conservatives who were seen as the farmers closest allies, championing their rights and making sure that dear old Jeremy Clarkson and dear old Andrew Lloyd Webber would be alright. How can a party that, even for their worst election results in a generation, still boast over a 100 MPs and be outmanoeuvred and perceived as less credible, than a party with 5 MPs who no one had heard of 6 months ago.
There seems to still be a lack of realisation of the threat that Reform pose, from not just the Tory benches, but those within government. The news of Nick Candy switching his allegiances and his millions to Reform, a move that followed other defections from Tim Montgomerie – founder of Conservative Home –and former MP Dame Andrea Jenkyns, should be sending shockwaves through the party. Starmer and his party have the luxury of only being 6 months into a 5-year term, but for Badenoch and the Conservatives, considering the ground that Reform have made, the traction, attention and most importantly money they have raised, they should be seen as not just a problem, but an existential threat.
Perhaps it is, the penny is dropping and there is real strategy being drawn up behind closed doors about how the party is going to stop haemorrhaging support to Reform, but it cannot be all out of the public eye. The Conservatives must provide some tangibility to voters. Following the Reform playbook of just providing commentary and summations on what is happening and what should be done instead works for them, these are populists – the Conservative party and Kemi Badenoch doing this is a grave mistake. You cannot out-Farage Farage, just like you cannot out-Trump Trump. That notion must become crystal clear to the party if they are to move forward and provide a viable alternative to voters in this country.
Key reviews are expected in spring 2025, the sentencing review led by David Gauke and the Chancellor’s spring forecast to name but a few. When these are announced you can already predict the usual, shouty adlibs that will be provided by those from Reform, but the Conservatives must be different going into the new year. You can expect Labour to keep banging the drum of the 14’s years of failure that they inherited, but the Tories must look forward. For all the critiquing there must be the ‘yes but this is the alternative’. If Badenoch can demonstrate clear tangibility and coherence in the party’s strategy, then there are still enough staunch Conservative voters to get behind her, but without the shift in mentality, the future for not only her, but the party, looks one of incredible difficulty.
