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On various occasions when Conservative leaders have seemed moderately rational outwardly – and alternate phases where they have come across as wildly irrational, yet remained popular by party loyalists. This is not either of those times. Kemi Badenoch failed to inspire attendees when she presented to her conference, despite she offered the provocative rhetoric of anti-immigration sentiment she thought they wanted.

This wasn't primarily that they’d all awakened with a revived feeling of humanity; rather they didn’t believe she’d ever be in a position to follow through. It was, fake vegan meat. The party dislikes such approaches. A veteran Tory was said to label it a “jazz funeral”: noisy, energetic, but nonetheless a farewell.

What Next for this Party Having Strong Arguments to Make for Itself as the Top-Performing Governing Force in History?

Some are having another squiz at one contender, who was a firm rejection at the start of the night – but as things conclude, and everyone else has departed. Some are fostering a buzz around Katie Lam, a recently elected representative of the latest cohort, who appears as a countryside-based politician while filling her online profiles with immigration-critical posts.

Might she become the standard-bearer to challenge opposition forces, now outpolling the Conservatives by a substantial lead? Does a term exist for overcoming competitors by mirroring their stance? Moreover, if there isn’t, perhaps we might borrow one from martial arts?

If You’re Enjoying Such Events, in a Schadenfreude Way, in a Consequence-Based Way, It's Comprehensible – But Completely Irrational

It isn't necessary to look at the US to know this, nor read Daniel Ziblatt’s influential work, Conservative Parties and the Birth of Democracy: your entire mental framework is shouting it. Centrist right-wing parties is the key defense preventing the extremist factions.

His research conclusion is that political systems endure by appeasing the “wealthy and influential” happy. I have reservations as an organising principle. It feels as though we’ve been indulging the propertied and powerful for ages, at the cost of the broader population, and they don't typically become adequately satisfied to halt efforts to make cuts out of social welfare.

However, his study is not speculation, it’s an archival deep dive into the Weimar-era political organization during the Weimar Republic (along with the UK Tories in that historical context). Once centrist parties loses its confidence, when it starts to chase the buzzwords and superficial stances of the far right, it hands them the control.

We Saw Similar Patterns In the Referendum Aftermath

A key figure aligning with an influential advisor was a clear case – but far-right flirtation has become so pronounced now as to overshadow all remaining party narratives. What happened to the established party members, who treasure predictability, preservation, governing principles, the national prestige on the world stage?

What happened to the progressives, who defined the nation in terms of economic engines, not volatile situations? Don’t get me wrong, I didn't particularly support any of them either, but it's remarkably noticeable how such perspectives – the broad-church approach, the reformist element – have been marginalized, superseded by constant vilification: of immigrants, Islamic communities, social support users and protesters.

Take the Platform to Melodies Evoking the Opening Credits to Game of Thrones

And talk about positions they oppose. They portray rallies by 75-year-old pacifists as “festivals of animosity” and employ symbols – national emblems, Saint George’s flags, anything with a bold patriotic hues – as an open challenge to individuals doubting that being British through and through is the ultimate achievement a human can aspire to.

There appears to be no any inherent moderation, encouraging reassessment with core principles, their historical context, their original agenda. Whatever provocation the Reform leader throws for them, they follow. Consequently, no, it isn't enjoyable to observe their collapse. They are dragging democratic norms along in their decline.