Should we really care about Conservative Party leadership?

Tasks which initially seem insurmountable can be overcome if the political will is there.

It feels as though all we are currently hearing from the British media is updates on the Conservative Party leadership race. It is an ongoing narrative which has totally enraptured the establishment, but not necessarily the entire country.

Following Boris Johnson’s, to put it mildly, unsuccessful premiership, Conservative MP’s are rushing to throw themselves into the mix and become the party’s next leader. More obscure names are putting themselves forward to contend with familiar faces: former Chancellor Rishi Sunak won the first round of Tory MP votes, with rising stars like Kemi Badenoch showing promising turns in the race.

To many people, the leadership race seems like a dishonest inter-establishment squabble for power. Indeed, recent polls have shown public trust in the British establishment to be unsustainably low. Many people scarcely trust their own MP’s, let alone national institutions which are meant to ensure public safety and wellbeing.

In an era where the Conservatives have been in power for the last decade, and yet things only seem to be getting materially worse, who can blame the ordinary voters’ disdain for the current crop of politicians? It is folly to ask voters to place their trust in you when your party has done little to quell the economic and cultural decline of the country in the last decade. Claiming that you’re the “grown up option”, as Rishi Sunak has, for a party which has overseen a historic cost of living crisis, stagnating wages, and worrisome home ownership prospects, will fall on the deaf ears of the people who’ve been routinely let down by their party.

The disconnect between the Tory faithful and those within the Westminster bubble is palpable, with the latter attempting to cling onto a non-existent Thatcherite-liberal consensus while the country burns. Many would-be leaders have hinted at a full-bodied return to this brand of out of touch neoliberalism – most notably the likes of Liz Truss and Penny Mordaunt have promised to lower taxes and shrink the state during their leadership campaigns.

Looking at public opinion, it is easy to resort to bitter hopelessness in the face of such a discordant battle for Britain’s future.

But what is the alternative? Change can only happen within the machinations of the system we’re given, and to a certain extent any positive change must happen in accordance with concessions. It is easy – and justified – to sit back and laugh at how tone deaf and incompetent politicians are, but that is not a reason to adopt total carelessness. Despite the failings of the Conservative Party, and the incremental disintegration of our institutions, there remains the simple fact that some people are more intelligent and competent than others.

Many on the disillusioned right, including prominent commentators like David Starkey, have been backing Kemi Badenoch for the leadership spot, as they believe she displays this competence. Her leadership might not solve all the monumental problems Britain faces, but it could at the very least open the door for small victories.

It is better to have miniscule change for the better rather than accepting the destruction of everything you hold dear – even if you believe this destruction to be inevitable. Tasks which initially seem insurmountable can be overcome if the political will is there – the recent overturning of Roe v Wade, the product of a seemingly impossible decades-long task to overcome a liberal consensus, is proof of this.