Like going to the in-laws': Conservative conference to be steeped in apathy

"Few people doubt that Kemi Badenoch faces what could be a make-or-break Conservative party conference this weekend. However, some members are not so worried about regicide so much as a more prosaic threat: sheer apathy. For every conference, as long as I can remember, I've gone for three or four days. This time it's a day trip, one senior party activist said. Quite frankly, I'm thinking: What's the point in going for any longer?' I know of lots of other people doing the same thing."

"This is not to say Badenoch will have an easy time in Manchester. Many of her MPs privately agree the clock is ticking on her tenure in the job. An X account reputedly set up by a disgruntled backbencher offers a daily countdown to the anniversary of her leadership victory after which, under party rules, she can face a challenge. But there is something of a consensus that nothing is likely to happen yet,"

"This uneasy stalemate gives Badenoch a platform to present her agenda after a deliberately policy-light first year, even if few expect much beyond the widely expected announcement that a Tory government would pull the UK out of the European convention on human rights as a means to curb immigration. Some are impatient for a wider sense of where Badenoch wants her party to go."

Kemi Badenoch faces a Conservative conference amid party apathy and declining activist engagement. Many activists plan shorter attendance, making day trips instead of multi-day participation. Some MPs believe her leadership is time-limited, but most expect no immediate challenge before next May's local elections because leadership change is seen as unlikely to alter structural party problems. Low appetite for frequent leadership contests gives Badenoch space to present policy proposals after a policy-light first year. The government is widely expected to propose withdrawing the UK from the European convention on human rights to curb immigration. Labour's poor performance creates both opportunity and pressure for Badenoch to show a clear plan to capitalise on the moment.

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