Only 2% of people think Tory members seem like normal people

Ironically, it was James Cleverly who urged the party to be “more normal.”

James Cleverly has been eliminated from the Tory leadership race, leaving Kemi Badenoch and Robert Jenrick to battle it out. Receiving just 37 votes from fellow MPs, two fewer than the previous day’s ballot, Cleverly’s exit came as a surprise.

The shadow home secretary was seen as the most moderate of the final three contenders, and Conservative members will now choose between two candidates from the party’s right wing.

During the Conservative Party conference, YouGov carried out research into people’s perceptions of Conservative Party members. Just 2 percent said they think that members “seem like normal people.” The rest thought they didn’t. Even among Conservative voters, just 8 percent thought their MPs appeared normal.

YouGov conducted the same research during the Labour Party conference when 16 percent said they thought the party was normal, about eight times higher than the Tories.

Ironically, it was James Cleverly who urged the party to be “more normal.”

Speaking at the conference in Birmingham, after several tumultuous days for Badenoch and Jenrick, Cleverly told delegates that the Conservatives could win again by being, “enthusiastic, relatable, positive, optimistic – let’s be more normal.”

The irony was not lost on Times columnist Hugo Rifkind. In his article, ‘So much for Tory flirtation with normality,’ Rifkind referenced the YouGov poll, suggesting that the one candidate who understood the party’s detachment from ordinary people had been eliminated.

The YouGov poll confirms how far removed the party appears in the eyes of the public, even among its own voters. With Cleverly, the most moderate candidate, no longer in the running, the battle between Badenoch and Jenrick may only deepen the sense of detachment. Rifkind’s argument rings true – the Conservatives’ brief flirtation with normality may have come to an abrupt end.