'The Reform surge is a symptom of the Tory party's problems - not the cause of them,' says Jackie Doyle-Price

The Reform surge is a symptom of the Conservative Party’s problems. It is not the cause of them.

So, what next for the Conservatives? Just how much of a threat does Reform pose?

Well, that depends entirely on the Conservative Party

121 seats was clearly a disastrous result. But it should not be assumed that the Party has reached its lowest point. When the Party is being squeezed on the one side by the Liberal Democrats and on the other by Reform, running in the direction of either party could see the Party fall further.

If that happens, the only beneficiary is the Labour Party. So, for those of us who don’t enjoy life under socialism, we have to make sure that the Conservative Party does get a grip.

To be brutally honest, our record in Government since 2019 was not especially ‘conservative’. Of course, there were good reasons why the tax burden grew - £400billion of them as we fought the pandemic.

This was the equivalent of a war debt. The Party never really levelled with the public about what that would mean for the nation’s finances. It preferred to amplify the Labour narrative that £30billion tax cuts were the problem and in doing so trashed the Conservative brand. No wonder our voters stayed at home.

We seemed to be framing policy based on what polls and focus groups were telling us rather than doing what we instinctively believed. Did Margaret Thatcher need a focus group to tell her what she should do?

Of course not. As Conservatives, our beliefs and instincts should drive what we do. We should do what works and achieve the outcomes we desire. It might get you a boost in the short term by chasing popular opinion. But it won't last if you don’t deliver on your promises.

The public expects the Conservative Party to govern with common sense. It seems sometimes that we were too reticent about doing what we believed. Take the issue of women and the transgender debate. Much of the British public recognises that biological men should not be competing in female sporting events.

They also think women should be able to use toilets and changing facilities without having to share them with men. It beggars' belief that as Conservatives we seemed frightened to say so. We have witnessed the Pride Rainbow flag being replaced on public buildings by the more political Progress flag with no one batting an eyelid. Best not to offend the metropolitan liberal classes.

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But if you do that a vacuum is exposed. Conservatives concluded we were not speaking for them, and they left us. Some voted for Reform at the last general election. Most simply stayed at home.

So, the Conservative Party needs to recover its confidence. It must rediscover Conservatism and be proud of it. If we do that the people who have voted for us in the past will return.

It needs to offer a broad-based platform championing our core values of low tax, personal freedom, strong defence and the rule of law. These are the positive things the public associate with the Conservative Party.

Labour is already making bad mistakes. The new Leader must direct their guns entirely on them if we are to be a Party of Government again. If we fail, Labour wins and our great nation loses. It is up to us.