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There have been times when Tory figureheads have seemed moderately rational outwardly – and alternate phases where they have sounded completely unhinged, yet continued to be cherished by party loyalists. Currently, it's far from either of those times. Kemi Badenoch left the crowd unmoved when she presented to her conference, while she offered the divisive talking points of anti-immigration sentiment she thought they wanted.

It’s not so much that they’d all arisen with a revived feeling of humanity; more that they lacked faith she’d ever be able to follow through. Effectively, a substitute. Conservatives despise that. A veteran Tory was said to label it a “jazz funeral”: noisy, energetic, but ultimately a parting.

What Next for the Group Having Strong Arguments to Make for Itself as the Top-Performing Governing Force in the World?

A faction is giving a fresh look at Robert Jenrick, who was a hard “no” at the outset – but with proceedings winding down, and other candidates has left. Another group is generating a excitement around a newer MP, a recently elected representative of the latest cohort, who presents as a traditional Conservative while filling her socials with border-control messaging.

Might she become the standard-bearer to counter Reform, now outpolling the Conservatives by a substantial lead? Is there a word for beating your rivals by adopting their policies? Moreover, should one not exist, surely we could borrow one from fighting disciplines?

When Finding Satisfaction In These Developments, in a Downfall Observation Way, in a Consequence-Based Way, That Is Understandable – Yet Completely Irrational

One need not look at the US to grasp this point, nor read the scholar's groundbreaking study, Conservative Parties and the Birth of Democracy: your entire mental framework is emphasizing it. Moderate conservatism is the key defense resisting the extremist factions.

His research conclusion is that democracies survive by satisfying the “propertied and powerful” happy. Personally, I question this as an organising principle. It feels as though we’ve been catering to the privileged groups for ages, at the detriment of the broader population, and they don't typically become sufficiently content to stop wanting to take a bite out of social welfare.

Yet his research isn’t a hunch, it’s an archival deep dive into the pre-Nazi German National People’s Party during the Weimar Republic (along with the England's ruling party around the early 1900s). When the mainstream right becomes uncertain, when it starts to adopt the rhetoric and symbolic politics of the radical wing, it cedes the direction.

Previous Instances Showed Some of This During the Brexit Years

Boris Johnson cosying up to an influential advisor was a notable instance – but extremist sympathies has become so obvious now as to overshadow all remaining Conservative messages. Whatever became of the old-school Conservatives, who treasure continuity, tradition, governing principles, the UK reputation on the world stage?

What happened to the modernisers, who defined the country in terms of powerhouses, not volatile situations? To be clear, I had reservations regarding either faction too, but it’s absolutely striking how those worldviews – the one nation Tory, the modernizing wing – have been eliminated, replaced by ongoing scapegoating: of migrants, religious groups, social support users and demonstrators.

Appear at Podiums to Themes Resembling the Theme Tune to Game of Thrones

While discussing issues they reject. They describe protests by older demonstrators as “carnivals of hatred” and employ symbols – British flags, English symbols, any item featuring a bold patriotic hues – as an open challenge to individuals doubting that being British through and through is the best thing a person could possibly be.

We observe an absence of any inherent moderation, where they check back in with their own values, their historical context, their stated objectives. Any stick the Reform leader throws for them, they follow. Consequently, definitely not, there's no pleasure to watch them implode. They’re taking democratic norms into the abyss.