The same shadow cabinet minister cited earlier argued that a lot of Reform’s support is “transactional” and that many voters on the right will “support any party to defeat the left.”
“We do think we’ve got a big opportunity now to build on that. If we can convince people we are the party that can defeat Labour a lot of people will come over to support us,” they added.
At Tory high command, they reckon Badenoch’s relative personal popularity is finally starting to rub off on the rest of the party.
“It was only a matter of time before the party started to catch up with Kemi,” a senior Conservative adviser said. “Obviously, the party still has a long, long way to go, so I don’t want to sound complacent, but we are starting to see the sense that this is a different party than the one voters rejected in 2024. That is starting to percolate.”
At the same time, they argued, Reform has “increasingly looked like they embody all of the worst parts of Westminster after claiming they were going to be an antidote to it.”
More in Common on Wednesday will publish fresh research that will go down well in Conservative Campaign Headquarters.