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Throughout history when Tory figureheads have sounded moderately rational superficially – and other moments where they have sounded wildly irrational, yet continued to be cherished by their party. This is not such a scenario. Kemi Badenoch didn't energize the audience when she addressed her conference, while she presented the red meat of migrant-baiting she assumed they wanted.

It’s not so much that they’d all arisen with a renewed sense of humanity; instead they were skeptical she’d ever be able to implement it. It was, an imitation. The party dislikes such approaches. An influential party member reportedly described it as a “themed procession”: boisterous, animated, but still a parting.

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

Certain members are taking a fresh look at Robert Jenrick, who was a hard “no” at the start of the night – but with proceedings winding down, and rivals has left. Others are creating a buzz around a rising star, a recently elected representative of the latest cohort, who appears as a countryside-based politician while filling her socials with anti-migrant content.

Might she become the leader to challenge Reform, now outpolling the Conservatives by 20 points? Does a term exist for defeating opponents by adopting their policies? And, should one not exist, surely we could use an expression from fighting disciplines?

If You’re Enjoying These Developments, in a Schadenfreude Way, in a Just-Deserts Way, That Is Understandable – Yet Totally Misguided

One need not look at the US to grasp this point, or reference Daniel Ziblatt’s seminal 2017 book, Conservative Parties and the Birth of Democracy: every one of your synapses is emphasizing it. Moderate conservatism is the key defense against the far right.

His research conclusion is that political systems endure by appeasing the “elite classes” happy. I’m not wild about it as an fundamental rule. It seems as though we’ve been catering to the affluent and connected for decades, at the detriment of other citizens, and they don't typically become sufficiently content to halt efforts to take a bite out of disability benefits.

Yet his research isn’t a hunch, it’s an comprehensive document review into the historical German conservative group during the interwar Germany (along with the British Conservatives circa 1906). When the mainstream right loses its confidence, if it commences to pursue the rhetoric and gesture-based policies of the radical wing, it hands them the direction.

Previous Instances Showed Some of This During the Brexit Years

A key figure aligning with Steve Bannon was one particularly egregious example – but radical alignment has become so evident now as to obliterate any other party narratives. Where are the established party members, who value stability, preservation, the constitution, the UK reputation on the world stage?

Why have we lost the modernisers, who described the nation in terms of economic engines, not tension-filled environments? To be clear, I wasn’t wild about either faction as well, but the contrast is dramatic how such perspectives – the one nation Tory, the Cameroonian Conservative – have been erased, replaced by relentless demonisation: of migrants, Muslims, welfare recipients and activists.

They Walk On Stage to Music That Sounds Like the Theme Tune to Game of Thrones

Emphasizing issues they reject. They describe demonstrations by older demonstrators as “displays of hostility” and display banners – British flags, English symbols, anything with a vibrant national tones – as an open challenge to individuals doubting that being British through and through is the ultimate achievement a human can aspire to.

There doesn’t seem to be any natural braking system, that prompts reflection with fundamental beliefs, their historical context, their original agenda. Whatever provocation the political figure offers them, they’ll chase. So, absolutely not, it isn't enjoyable to see their disintegration. They are dragging social cohesion into the abyss.