The Conservatives after the local elections: still too soon?

It is self-evident that in local elections where a party loses over 600 councillors and control of 15 councils it has been a very disappointing result. And Kemi Badenoch readily acknowledged that once the results and scale of losses became clear.

The Conservative Party lost hundreds of excellent local representatives many of whom also play a key role in their associations so keeping them engaged with the rebuilding of the party will be extremely important over the coming months. Kemi's efforts listening to them in the days following the results was just the start.

Despite these results it is worth remembering that there are still over 4400 Conservative councillors and the party remains the main opposition to Labour at a local – as well as national - level. Now more than ever the party needs to keep showing it and continuing to ensure Conservative councils are delivering for their areas.

Amidst the gloom of 1st May there was a ray of light with Paul Bristow's victory in the Cambridge and Peterborough Mayoralty race. His success offers some lessons about how a strong team and Conservative message can succeed.

Speaking to voters on the doorstep during the campaign, it was clear that the electorate are not yet willing to give the Conservative Party much of a hearing or to forgive the mistakes made before the last General Election. That is not surprising. Winning back trust takes time.

But anger was not limited to the Conservative party. For those inclined to vote at all it was very much a plague on both your houses which also resulted in Labour losing over 180 seats from the low base of 2021 – results which at the time led to Keir Starmer seriously considering resigning.

So, the local election results were another stark reminder of the work that needs to be done for the Conservatives to earn the right to be heard by the electorate again. At a national level parliamentarians need to stay calm, keep united, and focus unrelentingly on providing a strong, credible opposition to the Government while at the same time rebuilding the trust of the British people and set out a clear, compelling Conservative vision for the future.

The Policy Commissions recently launched by Kemi and being led by the Shadow Cabinet offer a base from which to start to regain trust. By being genuinely open to new ideas based on sound Conservative principles, they provide the opportunity for an intellectual revival on the centre right. Put simply, giving people a reason to vote Conservative again – and activists a clear message on the doorstep.

But with another significant set of elections across England and the devolved administrations next May, the Conservative leadership will have less time than it would ideally like to start to put flesh on the bones of its policy priorities and to begin setting out the positive Conservative alternative to the Government. It also needs to learn the lessons from this campaign and where the party was successful to reform CCHQ and in particular bring a stronger digital focus to its operations.

And at both a national and local level, Conservatives need to be rigorous in holding other parties to account for their performance and policies. That is as true for Reform who now control councils as it is for the Liberal Democrats. With the change in the political landscape there is more party competition than ever – there is certainly a place for a centre-right party based on Conservative values, so the hard yards needed to reinvigorate the Tories begins in earnest now.