UK (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Conservative leader Kemi Badneoch faces backlash from 55% of Tory members for slow policy development, while 39% are satisfied with the party’s pace.
As reported by The Telegraph, a recent poll shows that half of Conservative members believe Ms Badenoch’s policy development is progressing too slowly.
What did ConservativeHome survey reveal about Tory members’ views on policy development?
According to a ConservativeHome poll, 55% of Tory members believe the party should speed up its policy formulation process. Less than 40% of members think the party’s pace is right, with only 5.9% suggesting the Conservatives should take more time.
The sruvey noted that Ms Badenoch had made it clear during her leadership campaign that she would not rush policy development, suggesting it could take years to finalize specific positions on major issues.
It stated that the Tories’ response to Labour’s legislative agenda, including a February plan aimed at blocking migrants on work visas from settling permanently in the UK if they claimed benefits.
Later, the party pledged to limit migration to the UK and made an admission that achieving net zero emissions by 2050 is unlikely.
ConservativeHome also explored views on whether Kemi Badenoch should address the legacy of the previous Conservative government, an issue that has split opinions among party leadership.
According to the survey, 50.2% of party members believe acknowledging past mistakes in power is essential to restore credibility with the electorate. A significant proportion of members believe the party has adequately or overly addressed previous mistakes and it’s time to focus on the future.
The poll revealed that 35.7% of members think the Tory party should stop looking back and instead prioritize what lies ahead. Meanwhile, 12.9% feel the party should have already moved on from the previous government’s record.
What did ConservativeHome reveal about the delay in Tory policy development?
ConservativeHome highlighted that advocating for quicker policy development doesn’t mean that policies should be in place already. It stated,
“It isn’t obvious why the current programme for the ‘renewal programme’, with its page for submissions (of top-line views, not detailed prescriptions) could not have been in place months ago.”
According to the news website, four in 10 people agreed with the reasoning that developing detailed policies well before a general election may not be practical.
It continued,
“Yet as the Opposition is learning, it is very hard to take the fight to the Government with no answer to the obvious question: ‘Well, what would you do?’ Perhaps that’s why only 6 per cent of panellists thought the party should be taking any more time than it already is.”
ConservativeHome stated,
“Mrs Badenoch was elected in part on a promise to confront hard truths about the Conservatives’ time in office, of which the abject failure to control immigration is merely the standout example,”
adding,
“Yet this has not, to date, happened, and the difficulty of keeping the peace amongst a fractious parliamentary party militate against scrutinising the records of many of its members.”
What did the More in Common survey say about Kemi Badenoch?
According to the More in Common poll, just 5% believe Mrs. Badenoch could reverse the Conservative Party’s declining fortunes and win the election. Meanwhile, 10% of those surveyed supported a different candidate to lead the party to the prime ministership.
The survey revealed that 13% of the public believe the Reform leader will be the next prime minister, with the same number saying Sir Keir will remain in charge in four years.