Is the Tory Party finished?

[Westfacing]

The Tories lost their deposit on Thursday for the first time ever in a by-election

They seem to be irrelevant right now but I'm not sure they are totally done for!

I agree Labour have the same problem about trying to out reform Reform. But the Conservatives are going even further and more right wing.
I have followed politics for over 40 years and seen leaders from all Party's come and go, I think I can be very objective about them regardless of how I vote.
I think Kemi is terrible. I liked the way she dealt with Jenrick's defection but apart from that I don't see anything to admire.

I think the Conservative party will retain most of their current seats at the next General Election. The only question is if they will regain some that they lost in 2024.

It is a long time in politics until 2028 or 2029.

Yes but have you ever voted for them? Kemi isn’t going to be for someone who only votes Labour or left.

Starmer is very much removed from 'hard left'. To be honest, someone who is hard left like Burnam might have a better chance. But Starmer is not hard left. Very centrist.

Burnham definitely isn't hard left.
Corbyn , Abbott, McDonnell, Dennis Skinner, Michael Foot, To my Been are /were all hard left . Burnham if anything is soft left. He was a Minister in Tony Blair's Government.

In the past I have voted Labour, Lib Dem and once Conservative,so yes I have voted for them. I wouldn't ever vote for the current conservative party though

Is The Tory Party Finished? No.
We have real problems within the party and not everyone has come to terms with the way Boris and others messed up everything they touched.
Jenrick didn't for example which is why he pushed off to Reform UK.
The Conservatives under Kemi have realised that we have to talk only about Policy not personalities about leadership. Build foundations on fair policy. or go down the plughole.
There is talk of editing the ECHR as to what serves us best. That is still being considered.
Conservatism is more a kind of instinct than a list to make a Manifesto. We acknowledge that the NHS needs work but the basic ides of it being Free at Point of Delivery should be maintained. We also recognise that the costs of drugs and treatment are increasing hugely.
Can the UK be reduced to a Health Service with taxpayers contributing more and more of their income to keep it going? We need stronger defence forces to maintain our borders. Physical and cyber borders are under attack we see this in random ships paying too much attention to cables and pipe lines. Computer systems of companies and institutions are being hacked causing delays and costs which the consumer and the taxpayer have to bear.
How much more do we need to spend on education?
These and other subjects all need thought and work. Slogans on T shirts and banners contribute nothing useful.

If you look at what the government have delivered (yes, you need to do that, nobody - especially not the government) is going to spoon feed it to you, you will see that the 2024 Labour administration is one of the most radical in a generation.

And I say that as a non-Labour supported. (But I do like facts).

Here is a summary of the most significant "radical" shifts delivered or initiated by the 2024 Labour administration so far:

The "New Deal" for Workers: Moving away from a flexible labor market toward high security by introducing day-one rights (unfair dismissal/sick pay) and effectively ending zero-hours contracts and "fire and rehire" practices.

State-Led Energy: The creation of Great British Energy, marking a return to the state as a direct player and investor in the energy market rather than just a regulator.

Infrastructure Overhaul: Aggressively bypassing local "NIMBY" opposition by reintroducing mandatory housing targets and reclassifying parts of the Green Belt as "Grey Belt" to meet a 1.5-million-home goal.

Renationalisation of Rail: A commitment to bringing all passenger rail services back into public ownership as private contracts expire, reversing the privatization model of the 1990s.

Private School Taxation: Removing the VAT exemption on private school fees to directly fund 6,500 new teachers in the state sector—a significant redistribution of educational funding.

Constitutional Culling: Beginning the process of removing the remaining hereditary peers from the House of Lords, the most significant step toward Lords reform in 25 years.

Renter Protections: Strengthening the Renters' Rights Bill to permanently ban "no-fault" evictions and give tenants more power to challenge rent increases.

The National Wealth Fund: Repurposing the UK Infrastructure Bank to create a £7.3 billion fund aimed at direct state investment in green hydrogen, "gigafactories," and steel decarbonisation.

This thread is funny. Yes the tory party is dead, it's waiting to be buried.

Who do you vote for, Labour?

I suggest Sadiq Khan kicks off the taking a leaf out of the Infrastructure overhaul to improve London's house building. Even tiny in-fill developments are going nowhere.

In the 14 years that the Conservatives were in Government (2010 - 2024), the Conservative Party got rid of three Prime Ministers: May, Johnson and Truss.

As the official opposition party from 1997 -2010, they had Hague, Duncan Smith, Howard and Cameron. I'm going to say that Badenoch is comparable with Duncan Smith.

If the Conservatives smell a whiff of failure with the leaders, they pounce.

A person doesn't have to vote for a Party to understand the politics and ideology behind it. They can observe and criticise and make a judgement. As you well know 😉

What’s that got to do with my question?

If they vote Labour they’ve got their own party problems to worry about. Perhaps it’ll be dead and buried first.

@SerendipityJane I think you will find day 1 rights are now 6 month rights. For good reason. All the things you talk about are for the future but Labour has lost the here and now. Taxing jobs, rising unemployment and inflation so money doesn’t go as far are big issues for now. Houses might get built if there’s anyone to build them. Taxing jobs doesn’t help!

So my question to you is this.

Do you believe that the Conservative Party will remain the official Opposition party in 2029?

I’d say a week is a long time in politics rn and anything could happen by then. Greens taking Labour’s vote, Restore eat into Reform or not, Conservatives the only ones for lowering welfare spending.

They could be in power, so could one of the other parties.

There was very grown up speculation that they could have become the third party in 2024, behind the LibDems.

Was that the Labour version of ‘grown up’?

I think most have worked out that was a load of bs by now. Going by votes and polling.

No I dont think the Tory party is finished. We are a centre right country and I realise the G&D seat was won by the hard left, but it's an outlier and I can see Reform and the Tories taking control in the next election especially in England. If anything it is the Labour party that is finished.

Thank you for your erudite political analysis.

And you for the sarcasm.

You asked. If you don’t want an answer ask someone else.

Oh I wasn't sarcastic. Take the compliment.

I would quibble with "centre right". It's clear "left" and "right" have lost their use as anything but insults.

"conservative" (I.e. "conservative with a small 'c'") is a much more accurate - and more enduring characterisation. It explains why poor Camilla Tominey was so confused on GBNews yesterday. Because it's possible to be conservative (as a lot of muslims might say they are) and yet utter reject the right wing freakshow that is Reform.

Despite being a "conservative" DM voted every which way over the years.