“These were always going to be tough elections for the Conservative Party. And while the headlines will go to Labour and Reform, we need a clear-eyed assessment of where we are.

The Conservatives have performed well in areas like Harlow, Peterborough and Wandsworth and have won back Westminster City Council. Despite the disappointing results in the devolved nations, in the South of Scotland the Conservative ‘blue wall’ held firm and in Wales the Conservatives returned 7 members.

After that historic rout in the General Election, Kemi Badenoch is trying to pick our party back up off the canvass to get us ready to challenge for government again.

And she deserves credit for all she’s done so far, but we can do more and we need a change of strategy.

We have to acknowledge that Reform UK are not going away. These results confirm that the 2019 coalition has disappeared. Labour is losing the Red Wall to Reform.

That means thinking hard about the type of coalition we are now trying to build.

The Conservative Party has won majorities before with a party to its right – in 2015 we won outright while UKIP took nearly 13% of the vote. A coalition that reached deep into the centre ground, winning over Liberal-leaning centrist voters who didn’t want a left-wing Labour government was a key factor.

Nigel Farage said he would wipe the Conservative Party out as a national force. That has not happened. If you look hard at the details there is still a rejection of the populists – the national equivalent vote puts Reform on 27% – lower than last year. There is an opportunity to unite a centre and centre-right coalition but the question is how.

Building in opposition means putting together coalitions of voters. It means targeting focus and resource on geographical constituencies, yes, but also on constituencies of purpose. What is our offering to young people? To parents? To public sector workers? To business owners? It means leading with the economy and the everyday issues that matter to people- the cost of living, public services and the security of our nation.

We know that there are millions of people with centre or centre-right views who feel that no party truly represents them.

At Prosper UK, we want to help the Conservative Party reach out to a broader coalition of voters – including those now voting Labour or Lib Dem – and focus on making the economy work for them, and for the country.

That’s how you build the support you need to return a centre-right government to power.”