Recent comments from both Robert Jenrick and Kemi Badenoch on a possible electoral pact or at least a post-election working relationship with Reform UK have planted the Tories in deeply unfamiliar territory. The logic is simple: if we can’t beat Reform, we should join them. But this logic, while understandable in the heat of political panic, is flawed. Closer ties with Reform are not the solution to the Tories’ electoral woes. Radical internal change is.
The Conservative Party is faced with an unprecedented challenge. For nearly 200 years, the Conservatives have remained unchallenged as the dominant right-of-centre party in British politics. Unlike the Labour Party, which has had to juggle competition from the Liberal Democrats, Greens and others, the Tories have traditionally enjoyed a unified Right. Reform have shattered that dominance. For the first time in British political history, the Right is split and the Tories are panicking.
Lurching toward Reform may provide short-term relief, but it doesn’t solve the underlying problems present in the party. Speaking at the Thatcher Conference, George Osborne made the point that the Conservative Party has always been a broad church. A sharp move towards the Right risks alienating centre-right voters who will flock to the Liberal Democrats or independent candidates. While he didn’t say it outright, Osborne’s point was clear: a pact with Reform is not the answer to the Tories’ crisis.
While the threat of Reform is relatively new, it is not the first time the Tories have had to face down a challenger on their right flank. When UKIP gained popularity in the run-up to the 2015 election, Cameron and other Conservatives did not panic and offer to work with them. Instead, they offered a broad policy base which appealed to different factions within the Right. The Tories won that election by showing strength, competence and an ability to deliver, not weakness through surrendering to the extremes.
If the Conservatives are serious about reclaiming their dominance on the Right, they must reform themselves first. That starts internally: a divided and dysfunctional party will never regain public trust. The public didn’t turn against the Tories because they wanted a more radical right-wing party. They turned against them because they no longer trusted the Conservatives to deliver competent governance.
Next week’s local elections offer the first real test of whether the Tories understand that. Their focus should be on demonstrating effective delivery at the local level, rather than chasing headlines at the national level. Councils still controlled by Conservatives must show they can run public services better – cleaner streets, safer communities, lower taxes. They must present themselves as the party of working public services and responsible economic management.
Crucially, they must also start drawing clear dividing lines with Reform. Despite their populist image, Reform are riddled with contradictions. A party which prides itself on not bending to the will of the public sector, but then supports the Unite union’s Birmingham bin strike, which has led to the city being plagued with rats. The Conservatives should be exposing the contradictions in Reform’s platform and show them for what they really are: a party claiming to speak for the people while siding with hard-left union disruption. Reform’s ‘right-wing unionism’ is an open goal for the Tories – if they have the courage to take the shot.
Rather than trying to steal Reform’s thunder, the Tories should focus on offering voters something Reform cannot. This comes in the form of competence, economic credibility and a commitment to lower taxes without wrecking local services. Targeted tax cuts, such as easing council tax burdens or cutting local business rates, would resonate far more than pandering to Reform’s more extreme rhetoric. The upcoming elections provide the Tories with the ultimate opportunity to achieve this, although if they fail it may be the final nail in their coffin.
Ultimately, the Conservatives won’t win back voters by moving further to the Right or merging with fringe movements. They will win by proving they are still capable of governing – delivering services, cutting waste, opposing disruptive strikes and respecting the public’s trust. That starts now, in the councils they still control, and in the way they confront both Labour and Reform at the ballot box.
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