Conservative Party
UK official opposition led by Kemi Badenoch; squeezed between Reform on the right and Labour.
The Conservatives took Old Catton from Reform UK and Dereham Toftwood from Labour on 16 July, Reform's first outright by-election defeat of the parliament and a rare sign of Tory recovery.
Last refreshed: 24 July 2026 · Appears in 2 active topics
Do the Old Catton and Dereham Toftwood wins mark a genuine Conservative recovery?
Timeline for Conservative Party
Mentioned in: Harlow becomes fifth council to sue
UK Local Elections 2026Mentioned in: Pollsters split on the Burnham bounce
UK Local Elections 2026Mentioned in: Clacton draws a record 34 candidates
UK Local Elections 2026Mentioned in: Reform loses Old Catton to the Tories
UK Local Elections 2026Reform plateau breaks after five weeks
UK Local Elections 2026Background
The Conservative Party governed the UK continuously from 2010 to 2024 through five prime ministers before a heavy defeat at the July 2024 general election Left it the official opposition, led by Kemi Badenoch since November 2024. It now sits squeezed between Reform UK on the populist right and a recovering Labour on the centre-Left.
The squeeze has been sharpest at the local level: Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk county halls all flipped to Reform UK on 7 May 2026, the Scottish Conservatives fell to 12 Holyrood seats, their worst result since 1999, and the Conservatives collapsed to fifth place on 2.2% of the vote in the 18 June Makerfield by-election.
The picture brightened on 16 July, when the Conservatives took both the Old Catton division of Norfolk County Council from Reform UK and Dereham Toftwood on Breckland from Labour, Reform's first outright by-election defeat of the parliament. A YouGov poll taken days later put the party on 21%, third behind Reform on 23% and just ahead of Labour on 20%, as Andy Burnham's disputed leadership bounce dominated coverage.