When even Surrey’s middle classes are this angry with the Tories, you know it’s all gone wrong for Sunak | John Harris

The party's antics since 2016 have estranged much of its classic base, which is more worldly and liberal than many realise

To understand the meltdown the Conservative party faces, you do not have to go too far from Westminster. A short hop on a commuter train will do it - out into the suburbs and towns of the home counties, mostly still understood as true-blue heartlands but now full of a mixture of uncertainty, unease and anger that seems to have drastically shaken those age-old loyalties.

Last week, I was in Godalming in Surrey, represented for almost 20 years by Jeremy Hunt, the Tory politician who has held four cabinet posts since 2010 and is now somewhat desperately trying to remind his colleagues of the importance of the centre ground of politics. Life there looked largely easy: a seemingly bustling high street, enviably large houses and the sense of a corner of the country little used to political ruptures. To mark the 80th anniversary of D-day, the local shops were draped with an array of European flags; the scene in front of me seemed to crystallise the very English affluence that fosters calm and endless continuity.

John Harris is a Guardian columnist