The Tories might still be the default option for the right

The only reason I ever bothered to critique the alternative right wing parties was in the hope that they would take some of it on board and evolve into something more credible. For a time it seemed like I was making progress but I must have been deluded. If anything they’ve regressed, and I’m persona non-grata as far as the Slop Right is concerned. Whatever it is I thought I might accomplish, I failed.

On that basis, any further critique I might is is really just a thought exercise largely for my own purposes. We’re not voting our way out of this. For the insurgent parties to be of use they have to offer something more compelling than the establishment they seek to displace. But when it comes down to it, there’s a fact that many on the right, myself included, will not like at all. With caveats, Kemi Badenoch’s Conservative Party is the party of the right most capable of forming a viable, stable government. It would not be an optimal government, but a vast improvement on the last go around even if they just implement their reversal of Net Zero.

That singular fact influences how I will probably vote at the next election. Looking locally, I have a fairly reliable Tory MP who is well liked, knows the system, doesn’t waste his time on social media, responds to letters, and his politics are in the right ballpark even if I think he’s too mainstream. I’m not inclined to trade him in for some ranty unvetted paper candidate of no local standing who has no real idea how government works. If I vote at all, he’ll get my vote, but not with any great enthusiasm.

I could vote for a more radical party but only if it were serious and showed some sign of organisational capability. But looking at the options, the alternatives can’t even competently run their own parties let alone a government. I’m not going to vote for a party whose policies were scribbled down on a fag packet over boozy lunch. I am not going to vote for a party that hasn’t done its homework.

I haven’t yet seen what Badenoch’s Culture and Integration Commission has to say, but I have seen Lord Wolfson’s report on the ECHR - and if that is the standard of work we can expect (even though I do not believe we should leave the ECHR) then it is streets ahead of the alternatives.

When it comes to policy, I’m not taken in by fanciful blank slate ideas. Every proposal has to acknowledge the environment in which it has to operate, and the kind of opposition it will face. Governments do not have absolute power, and most only ever a chive a fraction of what they want to do. As such, I judge a party on its realism and its priorities.

For me, the absolute priority is immigration. On that score, I have looked at the proposals from the dissident right and I do not believe they understand the playing field at all. Yusuf’s plan to deploy the Royal Navy looks to me like a gimmick that won’t withstand first contact with reality. As to Uncle Rupe, I rather get the impression that neither he nor his supporters have even read their own policy. Once you start pulling at the loose threads, it soon falls apart. There is a certain Ukippy tinge to their thinking.

You don’t need to tell me how bad the Tories were in office or how little they achieved, nor do I believe they have changed enough. I don’t trust them. But we’re still back to the original point. They at least capable of forming a government where the alternatives are not.

Despite what the polls say, the Tories still have strong regional roots and most of the MPs who survived the 2024 purge will keep their seats in 2029, not least because they’ve put a lot of work in locally. They each know they are fighting for their political lives, and have made an effort to be seen on the ground. Meanwhile, Reform just puts on glitzy rallies and rolls out their tainted leader. There will be shy voters who won’t put their head above the parapet to explain their choice, but will quietly conclude that the alternatives aren’t up to scratch.

When it comes to elections, campaigns tend to focus people’s attentions, and will assess the parties more objectively. Badenoch is popular, and her supporting acts (Philps/Lam/Timothy/Whately et al) are a cut above the populist dross. They’re putting the work in. Contrast these people with Sarah Pochin (well meaning but dim) and Richard Tice. Draw your own conclusions.

I would prefer a competent party somewhere in the ballpark of Rupert Lowe, but his party is a Trojan Horse for grotbags and comically bigoted idiots for whom the competence mountain is too steep to climb. As such, it is for Reform to use the time remaining to prove they aren’t a shambolic populist mess. But that requires leadership - which they simply do not have. Thus, I am left to conclude that the Tory party is the only vehicle left standing - as depressing as that is. I’d like an alternative, but what else is there?

It is conceivable that Reform could evolve into something plausible were it to spend some time as the official opposition, preferably under new leadership, but as it stands it could not form a government. It does not have the breadth or experience. If forced into a coalition, they are going to need the Conservative Party. Regardless, my futile search for an alternative is over. Any hope of the alternative parties getting their act together is throwing good money after bad.