From 5 to 8 October, the Tory party’s annual conference took place. Outside the venue in Manchester, many wondered: “what’s the point?”
Appropriately, the conference had a ‘Thatcher at 100’ reception, to reflect on the so-called Iron Lady’s life and legacy – in reality, to have been a catalyst for Britain’s long-term industrial decline.
This decline of British capitalism is mirrored in the decline of the Conservative Party. The Tories, much like the UK’s influence on the world stage, have been reduced to a joke. And not just because they managed to misspell “Britain” on their conference chocolate bar!
“They want to run the country. They can’t even spell it right.”@NatashaC hsa notecid a bti fo a blendur ni teh Troy Praty goodei bga… pic.twitter.com/CAM8rW2xi4
— LBC (@LBC) October 6, 2025
The Tories have largely become an irrelevance. Britain’s traditional parties are more hated than ever. All the political attention is now focussed on Nigel Farage, Jeremy Corbyn, and newcomers like Green leader Zack Polanski.
Just days before the event started, another former minister defected to Farage’s Reform UK. A total of 11 Tory MPs have now abandoned the Tories for Reform since last year’s general election. This includes infamous scoundrels such as Nadine Dorris, Danny Kruger, Maria Caulfield, and Henry Smith.
It’s not just the tops of the party emptying out. The conference itself was plagued by empty seats and two-digit turnouts to sessions across the four days.
Tory conference feels empty more than anything. The members’ debate on free speech has been attended by 55 people pic.twitter.com/jqD2vxnu1M
— Max Kendix (@MaxKendix) October 5, 2025
On the penultimate morning in Manchester, it was announced that 20 Tory councillors had defected to Reform. “The Conservative Party is finished,” Farage gloated on social media.
This morning we announced that 20 Conservative Councillors have defected to Reform UK.
The Conservative Party is finished.
— Nigel Farage MP (@Nigel_Farage) October 7, 2025
In a tough stage slot following the news, Shadow Chancellor Robert Jenrick – already under fire for resurfaced comments that he had not seen “another white face” during a visit to Handsworth in Birmingham – insisted the party was still in fighting shape to “take our country back”.
Ultimately, the various policies Kemi Badenoch announced to the conference’s sparse attendees – cutting stamp duty, leaving the European Convention on Human Rights, and a new economic “golden rule” – have left hardly a ripple.
The same could be said for the entire event. This latest Conservative conference was nothing but a pathetic attempt to nostalgically recall ‘the good old days’ – whilst turning a blind-eye to the reality of the crises facing the country.
In this respect, Tory gatherings today resemble Turner’s painting of The Fighting Temeraire: a once-mighty warship, now decrepit, being tugged away to the scrapyard.
Senior Tories defecting to Reform, in turn, are like rats fleeing a sinking ship.
