The Conservative Party conference in Birmingham has become the stage for a political transformation so profound it would have been unthinkable just years ago. Kemi Badenoch, once seen as a standard-bearer for traditional Tory values, is now championing what many are calling the 'Reform-ification' of the Conservative Party.
The Ghost at the Feast
Reform UK may have won just five seats in the recent election, but their influence looms large over this conference. Their hardline policies on immigration and sovereignty, once dismissed as fringe positions, are now being adopted as mainstream Conservative thinking.
Badenoch's opening speech made clear where the wind is blowing, with tough rhetoric on border control and a renewed emphasis on the unfinished business of Brexit that echoed Reform's core messaging.
From Opposition to Adoption
What's remarkable about this shift isn't just its speed, but its completeness. Policies that Conservatives previously attacked as unworkable or extreme are now being presented as the party's salvation.
- Stricter immigration controls with numerical targets
- Renewed emphasis on sovereignty and taking on 'woke' institutions
- Direct appeals to traditional Labour voters in red wall seats
- A harder line on European relations post-Brexit
The Survival Strategy
This isn't merely ideological conversion; it's a calculated survival strategy. With the Conservative Party reduced to 86 seats and facing existential threats from both Labour and Reform, embracing their rival's popular policies represents the clearest path back to relevance.
The conference atmosphere reflects this new reality, with delegates who once viewed Reform supporters as fringe elements now openly discussing how to win them back.
What Price Victory?
The bigger question haunting Birmingham is what this transformation means for the soul of conservatism. In adopting Reform's platform, the Conservatives risk alienating moderate voters while potentially normalising policies that moderate Tories once considered beyond the pale.
Badenoch appears to be betting that the party has no choice but to move rightward to survive. Whether this gamble pays off will determine not just her political future, but the very identity of British conservatism for a generation.
