Tory pair aim to attract ‘politically homeless’ with new movement
Conservative politicians Sir Andy Street and Baroness Ruth Davidson are launching a new drive to try to attract millions of “politically homeless” voters to the Tory party.
The former West Midlands mayor and former Scottish Conservative leader will announce the initiative on Monday in a bid to win back moderate voters who they say underestimated the party in the last general election.
He will seek to engage these voters and work with them to develop the policies they want the Conservative Party to adopt.
Speaking to the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg on Sunday, Sir Andy and Baroness Davidson said they had confidence in Kemi Badenoch’s leadership within the Conservatives and wanted her to become prime minister.
But they said their research suggested seven million people who described themselves as centrist or centre-right felt no party currently represented them.
They think there is political space for a movement focused on issues such as taxes, housing, infrastructure and business investment.
Sir Andy said: “So we want to come forward with a national movement, a grassroots movement, talking to voters and particularly business, pushing ideas where the tip of the spear is around the economy and bread and butter issues of making people feel better about themselves in this country.”
The movement comes at a difficult time for the Conservatives, who are facing their worst general election result in history in 2024.
Party faces major challenge from Reform UKThe party is leading in national opinion polls and has been touting high-profile departures from the Conservatives for months.
Sir Andy, the former chief executive of John Lewis and twice-elected Conservative mayor in the West Midlands, said “the forces of populism on the left and right are on the loose in the western world”.
He said the new move was to say “no, they’re not in Britain”.
“There’s a really strong centre-right that believes in Britain, believes in its institutions, believes in its future and wants to rebuild rather than tear things down.”
Baroness Davidson said Badenoch was “a solid Conservative who can speak naturally to a wide range of people, whether they are existing supporters or potential supporters”.
But he added that there was a “large group of people who are potential supporters for whom he may not be the best messenger.”
Baroness Davidson, who was Scottish leader when the Conservatives replaced Labor as the second largest party in the Scottish Parliament, said: “This is about people who feel the Conservative party has abandoned them but who also feel they don’t have a home in Labor or the Liberal Democrats.”
“We want to talk to those who feel politically homeless and work with them and business to develop practical, pragmatic policies to improve lives and opportunities,” he wrote of X.
