Ione Wells: Where have the Conservatives gone wrong?

They have seen five leaders and prime ministers over just over 10 years; catastrophic events from Brexit to Covid to multiple leadership contests caused significant fractures within their party that has since led to ideological factions being split off as ideologically distinct bodies. Some Conservatives were more focused on dislodging one another than they were on getting rid of their opposition – and never really managed to patch things up afterwards. Scandals continued to plague their party from lockdown parties to sexual misconduct allegations and mini budgets contributing to higher interest rates. As I have spoken to numerous Tories about this result, most have described it as not unexpected but some think the scale could have been diminished. There were avoidable gaffes such as Rishi Sunak leaving D-day commemorations early. While Boris Johnson made similar gaffes himself, some fans felt Rishi Sunak did not charm voters back as effectively. He still garnered cheers of “Boris! Boris!” At an eleventh-hour rally to energize their campaign, Mr Sunak attempted to spark some interest with an unexpected announcement: an election would take place this July instead of waiting a bit longer and seeing more “measurables” such as flight of asylum seekers heading off towards Rwanda or an interest rate cut – however he eventually lost that argument and made his announcement sooner than hoped. And the Conservatives did not provide voters with evidence of some their policies working when going before them in elections, according to Mr Levido’s critics. As an alternative, more bad news may arise for Mr Levido’s Tories over time: more Channel crossings this summer; prison overcrowding leading to releases; universities closing. But could anything else have been done policy and identity-wise by them? So the focus will turn now as they seek the soul of their party, asking: who could come next and when will arrangements for finding someone new be made. Mr Sunak confirmed his plans to step down as Tory leader once arrangements for selecting his replacement are in place and there have been recent murmurings regarding interim leadership being appointed in order to avoid awkward scenarios such as having former PM David Cameron having to conduct Prime Minister’s Questions from opposition benches. Could someone from previous cabinet service like Sir Oliver Dowden, James Cleverly or even Jeremy Hunt (who recently managed to return) take part? If that were to occur, Mr Sunak may stay until after the next Tory leadership contest concludes; otherwise some MPs who have been working to build support have come forward, including Kemi Badenoch (the bookies’ favourite on the right of the party), Tom Tugendhat who sits more in the centre and have both made efforts. Tugendhat supporters have also fallen away, marking some of the most notable Conservative losses this election. Do their leanings matter for his supporter status? Well, because this will determine how the Tory party structures itself going forward. Do they elect someone from the right – such as Ms Badenoch, Mrs Braverman or Mr Jenrick – to stave off Reform UK’s increased influence and its recent victories at Westminster? Or will they elect someone like Tugendhat or Hunt to shift back towards center ground with Labour now occupying more political ground on their political spectrum and take some space back from them? Some argue this shift to the right was part of what led to their losses at Westminster; others claim this drift to the right was part of what caused their downfall – alienating socially liberal yet fiscally conservative voters. Whatever decision comes out will depend upon endless debate over time until finally decided upon by them all over time and soul searching over coming weeks ahead!