Reform Scotland was delighted to host this discussion about the future of the Conservative Party with four senior Conservatives giving their views on the direction and prospects of the UK’s governing party: Baroness Davidson, Jesse Norman MP, former Cabinet minister David Gauke, and Donald Cameron MSP.
With Prime Minister Boris Johnson stumbling from crisis to crisis and facing the prospect of police action over lockdown parties in Downing Street, the Conservative government appears to be in real trouble. It trails Labour heavily in the polls and Mr Johnson’s personal popularity ratings have plummeted.
Will the Tories stick with the Prime Minister, who in 2019 won an 80-seat majority, or seek to replace him – and if the latter, who with? Should it be a low-tax, small-state party, as favoured by right-of-centre Brexiteers, or will One Nation Conservatism make a comeback? What principles, values and policies should underpin Conservatism in the 2020s?
These issues and more were discussed at our event, which was chaired by Reform Scotland Director Chris Deerin.
This event took place over Zoom on Tuesday 8 March.