Kemi Badenoch's net favourability score with YouGov increased by 20 points, though it remains at minus 15. The Conservative party currently polls at just over 20% of the vote in the UK.
The party's polling figures are noted to be lower than those recorded in 2024. A shadow minister stated, "We have outsourced our toxicity to Reform."
Robert Jenrick was accused of promoting toxic nationalism after complaining about not seeing another white face in a section of Birmingham. Following this incident, Robert Jenrick defected to Reform three months later.
David Gauke advised Badenoch to pay greater attention to moderate Tories who are politically homeless. The main policy offering before the conference involved a pledge to reduce overseas aid to fund 50,000 new prison places.
Other pledges from the Conservative party included barring non-Britons from social housing. Furthermore, the party pledged to strip UK citizenship from dual nationals convicted of serious crimes.
The Conservative party also committed to cutting some benefit payments down to a subsistence level. Andy Street and Ruth Davidson launched Prosper UK, a centrist grouping, earlier this year.
Tim Bale, professor of politics at Queen Mary, University of London, calculated that Badenoch aimed to prevent Reform from causing trouble while hoping Reform would collapse and Andy Burnham’s government would decline.
