Kemi Badenoch’s desperate revival of Brexit battles only deepens Tory woes as party slips to fourth place in polls

As the so-called Brexit Nostalgia festival limped into its second day, Conservative leadership hopeful Kemi Badenoch doubled down on refighting the Brexit battles of the past — a strategy that appears more likely to accelerate the Tory party’s slide in the polls than halt it.

Meanwhile, Labour leader Keir Starmer prepared to deliver a Commons statement on the new EU trade deal, one that modestly tweaks the arrangement forged by Boris Johnson and David Frost five years ago. Despite Brexiters branding it as a betrayal, Starmer heralded the agreement as a vital reset that unlocks growth and opportunity. Tory MPs filled the chamber, but many seemed more interested in revisiting old grievances than debating the deal’s merits.

A recent YouGov poll placed the Conservatives in a humiliating fourth place, behind Labour, the Lib Dems, and even the Greens. Yet Badenoch showed no signs of abandoning the Brexit battleground. Instead, she doubled down on the tired “surrender” narrative, insisting the fishing deal was a betrayal — conveniently forgetting it was the very deal struck by Boris Johnson’s government.

Badenoch’s frontbench allies offered little respite. Priti Patel denounced Britain’s “indignity” of accepting EU rules and dismissed trade deals outright, advocating isolation over collaboration. Victoria Atkins, while seemingly more measured, carried a symbolic pet fish to Parliament to lament the fate of British fishermen under the new deal — a theatrics-laden gesture that revealed the desperation of the Tory Brexit faction.

Starmer, for his part, appeared calm and confident, positioning the EU trade deal as the crowning achievement of his premiership, alongside deals with India and the US. “The Tories said these deals couldn’t be done,” he remarked, “but they were the party that couldn’t get them over the line.” His restrained delivery contrasted starkly with the spectacle unfolding on the Tory benches.

Badenoch seemed momentarily unsettled when the reality dawned that the Brexit ideal she and her allies clung to no longer resonated with a country that wants practical outcomes, not endless ideological battles. Yet, lacking a credible alternative, she pressed on, drawing embarrassed looks from colleagues and the growing desertion of Tory MPs. Even loyalists like Desmond Swayne and Chris Philp quietly exited the chamber, leaving Badenoch with only a handful of supporters.

Among the diehard Brexit loyalists — Bernard Jenkin, Mark Francois, and Esther McVey — the mood was bleak. Their complaints about younger generations gaining international experience and what they perceive as “foreign influence” felt hollow and out of step, a tired xenophobia on autopilot.

Notably absent was Nigel Farage, who has long abandoned Brexit as a winning cause and shifted his focus to immigration. His deputy, Richard Tice, struggled to make a coherent argument, repeating “surrender” like a broken record. The sight encapsulated the decline of Brexit’s political potency: a party trapped in nostalgia, failing to engage with a modern electorate.

In short, Badenoch’s determination to relive past battles only highlights the Conservatives’ existential crisis. The British public has moved on, seeking leaders and parties offering tangible solutions rather than endless rewrites of Brexit history. For the Tories, until they do the same, the polls look set to get worse before they get better.