New Times,
New Thinking.

  1. Politics
  2. Conservatives
30 December 2024

The year ahead: Can Kemi Badenoch rescue the Tories?

Labour has left her an open goal – her future depends on taking it.

By Rachel Cunliffe

The big question for the Conservatives in 2025: do they stick with their leader? Or, if you’re of a more certain and less charitable persuasion, how long do they stick with their leader?

You might have missed it in amid the non-stop travails of the Labour government, but Kemi Badenoch is not doing well. Week after week at PMQs, Badenoch is presented with open goals (and fails to score). For all the delusional optimism at the Conservative Party Conference in October as Labour slumped in the polls, the Tories are not benefiting from Keir Starmer’s plummeting popularity. It is Nigel Farage’s Reform party that seems to be capitalising on disillusionment with mainstream politics, with the three parties now wallowing around the mid-20s in terms of public support.

Subscribe to The New Statesman today from only £8.99 per month
Content from our partners
An old Rioja, a simple Claret,and a Burgundy far too nice to put in risotto
Antimicrobial Resistance: Why urgent action is needed
The role and purpose of social housing continues to evolve
Topics in this article : ,