On Wednesday night, Conservative MPs held a powwow under their new leader, Kemi Badenoch , who had just survived her first Prime Minister’s Questions. With MPs staying late to take part in 10 votes on the Budget , the parliamentary Conservative Party decided to have a “little get together” between the divisions. According to one of those present, the mood was remarkably upbeat for a party which had recently suffered its worst electoral defeat in modern history .
“Everyone was feeling quite positive,” the senior Tory MP said. Much of that optimism is based on the early performance of the Labour government. “We’ve frankly been taken aback by how shit they are,” the senior Tory said.
“It’s unbelievable, with all the amount of time they’ve had to prepare for it.” The MP was not the only one to reach for scatological terms when opining on Sir Keir Starmer’s government. “What a shitshow the new lot are,” a second Conservative MP said.
Labour’s travails have made Tory MPs surprisingly bullish about their chances of winning the next election under Badenoch. A Shadow Cabinet member said: “There is a very big opportunity for us to return to government in one term. “They’ve already made some very big mistakes.
.. particularly the withdrawal of the winter fuel allowance and the tax-raising Budget .
” Badenoch’s plan to return to power has several elements. For all the optimism, it starts with a frank acknowledgment of the current state of the party.
