Taking Pleasure In the Downfall of the Conservative Party? It's Understandable – But Totally Incorrect

Throughout history when Tory figureheads have appeared almost sensible superficially – and alternate phases where they have sounded wildly irrational, yet continued to be cherished by their base. We are not in either of those times. Kemi Badenoch failed to inspire attendees when she presented to her conference, while she threw out the divisive talking points of border-focused rhetoric she thought they wanted.

This wasn't primarily that they’d all awakened with a renewed sense of humanity; rather they lacked faith she’d ever be equipped to implement it. It was, fake vegan meat. Conservatives despise that. A veteran Tory was said to label it a “jazz funeral”: boisterous, vigorous, but still a parting.

What Next for the Group With a Decent Case to Make for Itself as the Most Historically Successful Political Organization in History?

Some are having another squiz at one contender, who was a definite refusal at the beginning – but as things conclude, and everyone else has departed. Another group is generating a buzz around a rising star, a 34-year-old MP of the 2024 intake, who appears as a traditional Conservative while wallpapering her online profiles with anti-migrant content.

Is she poised as the figurehead to beat back Reform, now leading the Tories by a significant margin? Can we describe for beating your rivals by becoming exactly like them? Moreover, should one not exist, surely we could use an expression from combat sports?

Should You Take Pleasure In These Developments, in a Schadenfreude Way, in a Consequence-Based Way, It's Comprehensible – However Totally Misguided

You don’t even have to look at the US to grasp this point, or reference Daniel Ziblatt’s seminal 2017 book, his analysis of political systems: every one of your synapses is emphasizing it. Centrist right-wing parties is the crucial barrier preventing the extremist factions.

The central argument is that political systems endure by satisfying the “propertied and powerful” happy. Personally, I question this as an guiding tenet. It feels as though we’ve been indulging the privileged groups for decades, at the expense of everyone else, and they rarely appear quite happy enough to halt efforts to reduce support out of disability benefits.

But his analysis is not speculation, it’s an comprehensive document review into the historical German conservative group during the interwar Germany (along with the England's ruling party around the early 1900s). When the mainstream right falters in conviction, as it begins to adopt the terminology and superficial stances of the radical wing, it hands them the control.

There Were Examples Comparable Behavior Throughout the EU Exit Process

Boris Johnson associating with a controversial strategist was a clear case – but radical alignment has become so pronounced now as to overshadow all remaining Tory talking points. What happened to the established party members, who value continuity, conservation, the constitution, the pride of Britain on the international platform?

Why have we lost the modernisers, who portrayed the nation in terms of economic engines, not powder kegs? Don’t get me wrong, I had reservations regarding either faction either, but it’s absolutely striking how those worldviews – the broad-church approach, the modernizing wing – have been erased, superseded by constant vilification: of newcomers, Muslims, social support users and demonstrators.

They Walk On Stage to Themes Resembling the Opening Credits to the Popular Series

Emphasizing what they cannot stand for any more. They characterize rallies by older demonstrators as “displays of hostility” and use flags – union flags, patriotic icons, all objects bearing a splash of matadorial colour – as an direct confrontation to anyone who doesn’t think that total cultural alignment is the highest ideal a individual might attain.

We observe an absence of any inherent moderation, where they check back in with core principles, their own hinterland, their original agenda. Each incentive the Reform leader throws for them, they pursue. Therefore, absolutely not, there's no pleasure to observe their collapse. They’re taking social cohesion into the abyss.

Toni Sullivan
Toni Sullivan

A tech enthusiast and digital strategist with over a decade of experience in driving innovation and growth for businesses.