Overview
- Coverage this weekend highlights a clear recovery in Kemi Badenoch’s ratings, with cited polls and Ipsos figures showing public satisfaction roughly doubling over the past year.
- Despite those gains the Conservatives remain behind Reform UK in many national measures and still sit below Labour in overall support.
- Badenoch has shifted the party right with high‑profile pledges such as leaving the European Convention on Human Rights, large‑scale deportations, steep cuts to foreign aid and ending stamp duty on primary homes.
- Commentators warn the party’s organisational capacity is weak, pointing to a shallow shadow cabinet, chaotic candidate selection and chronic understaffing that reduce readiness for an election.
- Analysts say Badenoch’s main task now is to recruit experienced figures and broaden the party’s appeal without losing the right‑wing base, a balancing act that will determine whether polling momentum converts into seats by 2029.