Tory members revealed why they think they suffered 'worst-ever' election loss - it's a far-cry from British public's opinion

A new poll by YouGov surveyed 910 Tory members in mid-August to shed light on what they thought the main or biggest reason for the election loss was.

Members were asked to describe in their own words what the reasons were, which were then grouped into categories by YouGov’s AI-powered topic model.

Why do Tory members think the Conservatives lost the general election?

Topping the list of reasons was disunity, with one in six (16 per cent) saying that too much internal fighting and disunity in the party was why they were ousted from power.

The second most common reason at 12 per cent was the Tories' failure to tackle immigration, which could potentially be connected to the 10 per cent of members who believed the party failed to deliver on their promises.

Among the long list of reasons for the party's failures were the party not upholding conservative values (six per cent), the people wanting a change (seven per cent), Reform UK splitting the Conservative vote (four per cent) and Liz Truss after the failed mini-budget (four per cent).

However, when the pollsters asked the British public the same question, another story was told.

The most common belief among the wider population was that the Tories had been in power for too long and people wanted a change (14 per cent).

This belief is shared by 15 per cent of those who voted for the Tories in July but ranks fourth in Tory members reasonings for the party's failure.

A further 12 per cent of the public believe that the Conservatives left the country in a mess and were not fit to manage the country while nine per cent said they were "liars, useless and/or corrupt".

Few members of the public believed that it was disunity in the party that eventually led to their downfall (four per cent), however, this rises to nine per cent among Conservative voters.

Similarly, a failure to deal with immigration, which came second for Tory members, ranks only joint-tenth among the public, with only three per cent giving that answer.

Why do the public think the Conservatives lost the general election? 

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With the data providing some insight into where Conservative members think the problems lie in the party, separate questions from the same survey asked what they think should be the strategic approach going forward.

One of the most drastic proposals for the party was to merge with Reform UK creating a single right-wing party, however, reaction to this was divided between party members.

Half of the members (51 per cent) were against the idea while four in ten (42 per cent) were in favour of a merger.

Another half of members think the party should move to the right and half again think it should target Reform UK voters at the next election compared to only a quarter (25 per cent) who feel Labour should be prioritised.