'We have to show people we've listened and changed'

At the Conservative party conference an exhibition of Margaret Thatcher outfits harks back to a time of Tory dominance

In the centre of the Conservative Party conference exhibition hall are three mannequins dressed in perfectly preserved outfits from Margaret Thatcher's wardrobe.

It's understandable that they might want to hark back to the time when the so-called Iron Lady was in charge – at the height of her power every single seat in Kent, Sussex and Surrey was blue.

But it wasn't just the 1980s that saw the party dominate in the South East – it has long been Tory territory.

That was, of course, until last year's general election. Things haven't got any easier for them since then. So, the questions are can they recover, and how?

The Bexhill and Battle MP, Kieran Mullan, believes they can, but says it will "take time".

"We lost very badly at the general election and I never thought it was going to be a quick fix. I don't think the public want us to rush into a quick fix.

"I think we have to show people that we've listened and we've changed and we're doing things like making clear our policies on immigration are much firmer and much more rooted in what British people want."

He's not wrong when he says they "lost very badly". The 2024 general election saw the Conservative lose 25 seats across Kent, Sussex and Surrey. Labour and the Lib Dems were the beneficiaries.

The pain only deepened in May this year, when they were all but wiped out at the Kent County Council elections, with Reform UK taking a sweeping majority and the former council leader describing it as "apocalyptic".

Since then, they've lost overall control on Surrey County Council. And two former Sussex Tory MPs have joined Reform, including a former minister.

The Conservatives have handed out pretend cigarette packets to journalists, accusing Reform UK of writing their manifesto "on the back of a fag packet"

At this conference in Manchester they are clearly hoping to land blows on their competitors. There's a stall titled "Labour's circus of despair", where delegates can spin "Rachel Reeves's wheel of tax".

But the insurgent Reform UK is clearly their main target. They've been handing out cigarette boxes with spoof Reform manifestos written on them, claiming Nigel Farage has written his on the back of a fag packet.

Reform might be miles ahead of the Conservatives in the national opinion polls. But Rother District Council councillor and Conservative member, Lizzie Hacking, believes there is still an opportunity for her party.

"Socially they are quite right wing but economically they're not going to be helpful to the country long term," she says.

"What I want us to do is to lean into that economic credibility argument."

The East Grinstead and Uckfield MP, Mims Davies, says the Conservatives need to remind people what they "are about as a party"

The economy is one of the two key areas the Conservatives have decided to focus on at this conference, along with immigration.

They've already announced policies including leaving the European Convention on Human Rights to tackle small boat crossings and cutting the welfare bill to reduce taxes.

But after Liz Truss's mini-budget pushed up mortgages for many, and Boris Johnson presided over record levels of small boat crossings, will voters be convinced by the Conservative offer?

I ask the MP for East Grinstead and Uckfield, Mims Davies, how they can sound credible on these issues.

"Because we admit why those problems were there," she says.

"That was because of the energy shock, because of the war in Ukraine, because of the pandemic and shutting down the economy and having to support people.

"We got 2.4 more million women in work, we supported with childcare, we were helping youth employment go in the right direction. We do need to remind people that is what we are about as a party."

'What's the point in us?'

While the politicians may be sounding positive in interviews, the pollsters are rather more sceptical.

Luke Tryl is the executive director of the public opinion company More in Common.

He says the challenge the party is facing is "getting into the conversation".

"If you look at the South East it is sort of emblematic of the Conservative Party's struggles because on the one hand they're losing support to Reform UK, but you've also got the Liberal Democrats picking up votes to their left, which means they're sort of in a pincer movement."

The Conservatives are struggling to answer the question "what's the point in us?".

He says they should be focusing on their messaging around the economy.

"They won't be able to outbid Reform on immigration, but on the economy the Conservatives might have the opportunity to position themselves again as the party of fiscal responsibility, of more balanced budgets."

Some former members might have declared the Conservative Party is over, but others who have stayed loyal are feeling hopeful, like Lizzie Hacking.

She says this conference "feels very different" to previous years, partly because there is a smaller Parliamentary party now.

"It's almost the next generation coming forward. It's me and my peers filling up the panel. There's a real sense of it having moved on." she said.

"Within the grassroots there's a real swell of ideas in the way I haven't felt previously. We've almost been unleashed."

Those ideas will be crucial in the coming months, as the next big electoral test in the South East comes in the form of the Sussex mayoral election next May.

It will be a high-profile role with power and influence – so competition will be high.

But many here privately agree restoring the party's image in the eyes of the public may take longer than that.