Kemi Badenoch has said she would create a new deportations service.

With plans to nationalise key industries and even individual companies like Rolls-Royce, it’s clear that Reform are the party of the big state. Kemi Badenoch should reclaim the Conservative mantel as the party of business, says Oliver Dean

On Sunday night, Andrew Rosindell became the latest Conservative to defect to Reform UK. He joined the likes of Robert Jenrick, Nadhim Zahawi and Nadine Dorries – all of whom have jumped ship. To many, this looks like a Party in terminal decline. Yet, these defections give Kemi Badenoch an opportunity. They give her the chance to rebuild and realign the Conservatives as a liberal, pro-business party that can reclaim the centre-right.

It may seem counterintuitive to move the Tories towards the centre-ground. As Britain becomes more divided, it would appear that moderate politics is a dying tradition. Centre-ground politics is often mistaken for weakness and indecisiveness. Yet, the recent defections have created political space. Rosindell, Jenrick and Zahawi were all seen as sitting on the right of the Party – a faction far removed from the Ken Clarkes and Dominic Grieves of earlier years.

There is no doubt that others will join them. Farage’s imposition of a deadline to........

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