National Conservatism: a Tory fringe or the party’s future?

A conference run by a rightwing American thinktank attracted Tory MPs and influencers this week. Is its Trumpish populist philosophy a taste of where the Conservative party is heading?

Voters deserted Rishi Sunak's Conservative party in droves in local elections this month. The party lost more than 1,000 seats and with it control of dozens of councils. It was just the latest evidence of a party haemorrhaging support after a series of mishaps and scandals. With a general election looming, Tory MPs are desperate for a route back to winning popular support and many appeared at a conference this week hosted by an American thinktank.

As Peter Walker tells Michael Safi, it was a freewheeling and eccentric affair. Speakers variously railed against neo-Marxism", globalists" and told the (overwhelmingly male) audience of the need to increase the country's sagging birthrate. But do UK voters respond well to culture war politics? For Michael Gove, who spoke on Tuesday, the Conservative party must not become sidetracked into ignoring the central economic questions that decide elections. Is the rest of his party listening?