
Why the Conservatives are so cheery: inside the Tory reboot
From Westminster Insider by POLITICO
May 29, 2026 · 38 min · Season 22 · Episode 3
About this episode
The episode explores the Conservative Party's hopes for renewal despite recent electoral losses.
At the local elections, the Conservative Party lost hundreds of councillors and dozens of seats across England, Scotland and Wales, but Kemi Badenoch declared a comeback. So this week, Sascha O'Sullivan goes inside the Conservative Party's hopes for a renewal. She speaks to Shadow Chancellor Mel Stride in Solihull and James Cowling of Next Gen Tories about why they think the Tories can make a revival. Henry Hill, political editor at The Critic, who has spent years covering Conservative politics, and pollster Scarlett Maguire tell Sascha about the flaws in the Tories' plan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
People in this episode
Host: Sascha O'Sullivan
Guests: Mel Stride, James Cowling
Topics covered
- Conservative Party
- local elections
- political renewal
- Tory reboot
- politics
- polling
Keywords
- Conservative Party
- local elections
- Kemi Badenoch
- political revival
- Mel Stride
- James Cowling
- polling
- Tory reboot
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Conservative Party, Next Gen Tories, The Critic
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