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Conservative figures Sir Andy Street and Baroness Ruth Davidson are initiating a new movement aimed at drawing millions of voters who consider themselves “politically homeless” back towards the Tory party. The former mayor of the West Midlands and the ex-leader of the Scottish Conservatives plan to reveal the campaign on Monday, focusing on reclaiming moderate voters who bypassed the party in the previous general election. Their goal is to collaborate directly with these voters to shape policies that resonate with their priorities.
Both Sir Andy Street and Baroness Davidson expressed their confidence in Kemi Badenoch’s leadership during an interview on the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg, stating their desire for her to become prime minister. Despite this, their research highlights a significant political gap, as around seven million people identifying as centrist or centre-right feel unrepresented by any current party. This underlines the opportunity for a movement that centers on issues such as tax, housing, infrastructure, and business investment.
Sir Andy emphasized the need for a grassroots effort, explaining, “So we want to step forward with a national movement, grassroots movement, to get out there, talking to voters, and particularly to businesses, to bring forward ideas, where the tip of the spear is very much around the economy and the bread and butter issues about making people feel better off in this country.” The timing follows a challenging period for the Conservatives, who experienced their worst general election outcome in history in 2024 and face growing competition from Reform UK, which has been leading in polls and attracting notable defections.
Sir Andy, who also has a background as the managing director of John Lewis, pointed out the widespread presence of populism on both left and right extremes globally but insisted the movement stands against this trend in Britain. He stated, “There is still a really, really strong centre-right who believe in Britain, believe in its institutions, believe in its future, and who want to build things up and not knock things down.” Meanwhile, Baroness Davidson described Badenoch as a “solid Conservative who can speak naturally to a broad range of people who are current supporters or potential supporters” but acknowledged that some potential supporters may not find her to be the ideal messenger. Davidson also highlighted that many feel abandoned by the Conservative Party and find no home with Labour or the Liberal Democrats, summarizing their mission on social media as an effort to “speak to those who feel politically homeless and to work with them – and business – to develop practical, pragmatic policies to improve lives & opportunities.
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