A prominent Conservative defected to Britain’s upstart Reform UK party, the most significant sign of fracturing in one of the world’s oldest and most consistently successful political parties — and of the European center-right.
The Tories have been in government for most of the time since their formal founding in 1834, changing with the times to win power. But the party was badly beaten in 2024, is facing a growing challenge from the anti-immigrant Reform, and may be in terminal decline.
Center-right parties elsewhere in Europe are struggling as populists surge: France’s National Rally is climbing in the polls, and Alternative for Germany may be a big winner in upcoming German state elections.