More bad news has arrived for Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch after a year of grim polling, as new data shows even her own party members doubt she should remain in charge.
As the Tories gather in Manchester for their annual conference, the mood appears bleak. Once the dominant force in British politics, the Conservative Party is now struggling with dwindling membership enthusiasm and half-empty halls — even for senior figures’ speeches.
A new YouGov poll of party members, who would vote in any future leadership contest, found that 50 percent of Conservatives believe Badenoch is not the right person to lead the party into the next election. Only 46 percent think she should stay on.
Despite this, Badenoch remains personally popular among the rank and file. The survey found that both her supporters and those who backed her 2024 rival, Robert Jenrick, view her favorably. But after a year of deep divisions and electoral setbacks, many Tories appear to want a change in direction.
There is currently no clear favorite to replace Badenoch, though Jenrick leads the pack with 37 percent support among members. His steady rise mirrors growing frustration within the party as it struggles to define its post-Brexit identity.
The YouGov poll comes just days after another survey predicted a historic collapse for the Conservatives in the next general election — placing them in fourth, behind Reform UK, Labour, and the Liberal Democrats. Such a result would mark the first time in centuries the Tories failed to rank among Britain’s top two parties.
As YouGov noted, this turmoil is a far cry from the optimism of a year ago, when more than half of Conservatives still believed their next leader would soon be Prime Minister.
