Cozying Up to Reform Won’t Rescue the Tories: Rosa Prince

The UK Conservative Party is notoriously brutal when it comes to dispatching underperforming leaders. It’s one reason the party has been among the most successful electoral machines in modern political history, and why the lifespan of a Tory leader is about as assured as that of a Premier League football manager. Lose an election, you’re out. Tank the economy and you’ll be tossed aside like a moldy lettuce. Plummet in the opinion polls, and brace for a challenge from a so-called colleague — just ask Margaret Thatcher.

This ruthless streak poses a problem for Kemi Badenoch, elected as opposition leader ...