An interesting question is "Who could be the Tory Starmer?" – the Tory who can remain inside the tent enough to keep the median party member happy, yet will be able to pivot and drag the party back to credibility when the Badenoch/Jenrick era has been discredited.
I'm not sure one can be as it's not the same problem. Labour's was a membership one. I don't think the Tory membership is that much more radical than when it was winning elections. Its problem - which maybe intractable - is that its surrounding elites have radicalised.
Agree with this. And it's going to stay that was as long they indulge the poisonous extremism of Danny Kruger.
Yeah. Basic difference is that with Labour it was about persuading c. 30% of members they should elect a non-Corbynite as leader. With the Tories it's persuading those who fund the institutions that used to surround and support the Tory Party that populist nationalism isn't the coming thing.
Gabriel Milland made the point that Brexit - an article of faith for so many of them - turning out to be an unequivocal disaster that achieved none of the stated aims - that reality has driven them all kind of insane. Its like sitting in a giant vat of shit and screaming the solution is more shit.
That's played its part, but also Trump coming back, Musk etc. Like it's convinced a lot of those people that there's been a 'vibe shift' and that embracing the global radical right is more viable and desirable than even quite right-wing forms of traditional or liberal conservatism.
Yeah, i wish to God Trump would drop dead already.
Penny Mordant, she's got Thatcher vibes
Andy Street?
Tom T?
Tony Blair's eyebrow twitches
Cleverly, once and future etc
I feel like he's more of the Tory David Miliband.
Except he's actually likeable?
I have to try and balance in my brain the fact he trotted out some utter wibble during the Johnson years (👎) with the fact he paints 40k (👍)
I'm not sure who the Labour Starmer is, in this context, because it's not actually Starmer.