To that illustrious lineage, we can add the perennial spectacle of the Democratic establishment blanching before the prospect of a successful movement-driven populist campaign. The latest campaign in question, of course, is Zohran Mamdani's bid to be the next mayor of New York, and skittish party leaders are already declaring it a pox upon their efforts to recapture a House majority in the 2026
Latest Ipsos polling has the Tory party's national vote share on just 15%. YouGov polling has the party on 18%. The last time the Conservative party polled 30% or more was in September 2022. A party that gave people a choice at the ballot box has become a husk. It is, as a former MP colleague said to me recently, akin to an empty warehouse the building is still there but the goods inside have all but disappeared.
