The Conservative Party is gearing up for their first party conference after a defeat, with a particular focus on finding the answers to what went wrong in the last election. The conference in Birmingham will see four leadership contenders – Kemi Badenoch, Robert Jenrick, James Cleverly, and Tom Tugendhat – vying for the support of party members and MPs.
The candidates will take part in Q&A sessions, speeches, and fringe events to showcase their policy ideas and ideological stances. The conference will also include discussions on the party’s internal organization and why they have lost support among young voters.
The leadership contest, set to conclude on November 2nd, has been criticized for its extended timeline, leaving Rishi Sunak to lead the response to the budget on October 30th. The interim nature of the leadership has led to a lack of corporate lobbyists and a potential decrease in attendance from MPs and activists.
The candidates are leaning towards a further push to the right in pursuit of voters tempted by Reform UK, with a focus on reducing migration and potentially exiting the European Convention on Human Rights. The direction that the Tory party chooses to take will be crucial in determining their future success.
Overall, the conference is expected to be a test for the leadership contenders and an opportunity for the party to reflect on their recent defeat and chart a new course forward. Time will tell if the eventual leader will be remembered as a transformative figure like Blair or Cameron, or if they will lead the party down a path of further division.
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