Conservative figures Sir Andy Street and Baroness Ruth Davidson are launching a new initiative aimed at attracting millions of “politically homeless” voters to the Conservative Party.
The former West Midlands mayor and the former Scottish Conservative leader are set to unveil the movement on Monday, seeking to win back moderate voters who they believe have distanced themselves from the party in recent elections.
The initiative will focus on engaging these voters and collaborating with them to shape policies that they would like to see adopted by the Conservative Party.
During an appearance on the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg, Sir Andy and Baroness Davidson expressed their confidence in Kemi Badenoch’s leadership potential within the Conservatives, suggesting she could be a future prime minister.
However, they cited research indicating that approximately seven million individuals who identify as centrist or centre-right feel unrepresented by any existing political party.
They believe there is an opportunity for a political movement focused on key areas such as taxation, housing, infrastructure, and business investment.
Sir Andy stated: “We want to step forward with a national movement, a grassroots movement, to engage with voters, particularly businesses, to generate ideas, with a primary focus on the economy and addressing the everyday concerns that will improve people’s financial well-being in this country.”
This movement emerges during a challenging period for the Conservatives, who experienced a historically poor general election result in 2024.
The party faces a significant challenge from Reform UK, which has been leading in national opinion polls and has seen a number of high-profile defections from the Conservatives in recent months.
Sir Andy, formerly a managing director at John Lewis and a two-time Conservative mayor of the West Midlands, noted that “the forces of populism on both the left and the right are prevalent across the Western world.”
He emphasized that the new movement aims to assert that “those forces are not dominant in Britain.”
“There remains a strong centre-right contingent who believe in Britain, its institutions, and its future, and who are committed to building and improving, rather than tearing down.”
Baroness Davidson described Badenoch as “a solid Conservative who can connect authentically with a wide range of current and potential supporters.”
However, she acknowledged that there is “a large group of potential supporters for whom she might not be the most effective messenger.”
Baroness Davidson, who led the Scottish Conservatives when they surpassed Labour as the second-largest party in the Scottish Parliament, explained: “This initiative is for those who feel that the Conservative Party has left them behind, but who also do not find a home in Labour or the Liberal Democrats.”
In a post on X, she stated: “We aim to engage with those who feel politically homeless and to collaborate with them – and with businesses – to develop practical, pragmatic policies that improve lives and opportunities.”
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