This House Would Win an Election

It is clear that the Conservative Party has a long way to go before it is ready to fight the next election. At the moment, the general public have little faith in them, and in their assurances on delivering promises, due to the failure of the Sunak government to deliver on four out of their five promises. I believe that there are several steps the Party should take in order to comfortably win the next general election.

Recently, the Party has strayed from traditional “Conservative” policies, allowing the Reform Party to take a large portion of natural Conservative voters. A key issue is that of immigration, as many think the Party has not taken a firm enough stance on this. Both Reform and dissatisfied voters can point to the record high net migration figures in the early 2020s, including over 700,000 in 2022. With many hotels being converted to asylum hotels, increased NHS waiting lists, and a lack of school places, immigration is an increasingly prevalent issue in the lives of regular people. It is therefore critical that over the next few months and years the Party starts to develop stronger and more concrete policies aiming to tackle excessive immigration, whilst also highlighting the problems with Labour’s slow-moving policies. The rise in support for Reform proves that people are not satisfied with centrist policies; the Conservatives need to listen to their voters and return to core right-wing values. Although the Rwanda plan began to move policy in this direction, it was not concrete enough, and the public lacked faith in it. The Party must take the time now to lay out achievable and effective policies that appeal to a larger audience.

What’s more, this larger audience must include women. Historically, the Conservative Party has been very effective at targeting female voters, but in recent years, many have strayed to the smaller left-wing parties such as the Liberal Democrats and Greens. Currently, only around 24% of Conservative MPs are women, compared to 46% of the Parliamentary Labour Party. It is crucial that the Party starts to promote women as representatives, with the help of organisations such as “Women2win”, in order to attract more female voters. Additionally, the often unseen but vital role women play in British society needs to be understood: we are more likely to do the food shops and notice inflation, we are more likely to be carers and nurses, who notice the problems with the NHS, and we are more likely to handle household bills and therefore notice rises in the cost of living. As 50% of the population, we have huge sway in elections; focusing on these issues as well as training and promoting women to roles in the Party are key ways the Conservatives can broaden their appeal to the female section of society.

Furthermore, the Party must unite under the banner of Conservatism. The infighting, backstabbing and petty squabbling has certainly turned off long-time voters. It has displayed the image of a weak and divided Party, whose members and MPs are all pulling in different directions. But now, the Conservative Party has an opportunity to unify into an effective political force once again. Kemi Badenoch must restore a certain discipline, and take firmer action on infighting. Any weaknesses will be easily visible from the outside, and will make it almost impossible to hold even the most incompetent and left-wing Labour government to account. Proving that the Party has changed will be the biggest challenge but also the greatest achievement for Badenoch as leader.

Lydia Dicicco (Committee) is a second year undergraduate reading Spanish and Italian at St Catherine’s College.