The 5 reasons a Tory comeback is still possible - and why we shouldn't write them off yet

It is make-or-break time for Kemi Badenoch at the Conservative Party conference in Manchester as she outlines why voters should give her party another chance. The last few years of the Conservative government was a first-class lesson in chaos which resulted in a battering at last year's general election. When you have three Conservative prime ministers in the space of just five years why would anyone take you seriously anymore? Add to this the squabbling and nastiness that went alongside the two leadership campaigns, all played out in the public eye, and it was no wonder that voters deserted the Tories.

Labour's support came from a fed-up electorate that thought it was time to take a punt on Starmer as he could surely not be any worse, but how wrong they were. People I know are experiencing 'buyer's remorse' at having backed Labour. Over the last 14 months they have endured the cost-of-living rise and inflation rise, unemployment increase, and businesses struggle or close due to the pernicious costs placed on them by Rachel Reeves.

They have also seen London crippled by striking Tube drivers, Birmingham becoming a rubbish tip as industrial action by refuse collectors enters its tenth month, hospital appointments cancelled due to striking doctors and a record number of migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats.

Against such a bleak backdrop, the Conservatives should be storming it in the opinion polls, but to date have struggled to breakthrough. This is partly down to the clear proposition that Nigel Farage's Reform UK is offering voters, but also due to the Tories having a lack of distinct policies and messages to offer the electorate.

Kemi Badenoch has an opportunity this week to address this by throwing proper Tory 'red meat' to party members and the electorate, so they know exactly what she is about. The Tories took an unfair rap in the last few years of its government due to rising public spending, but those that criticise conveniently forget that much of this borrowing included funding furlough and keeping the country ticking over during the Covid pandemic.

They must now reassure voters that they can be trusted with the nation's finances. This means cutting waste in the public sector that we all pay for, whilst also ensuring public services continue to be delivered efficiently.

It means reducing the size of the state, along with slashing taxes and the red tape placed on individuals and businesses. If people have more money to spend then it boosts the economy. If businesses can afford to employ more people and operate cost-effectively then the economy also continues to grow.

As we look at the eye-watering level of debt this country has - we pay £105billion a year just to service our debt interest alone - the Tories must show how they will reduce these numbers with explicit detail. This will get one over Reform UK who have made dozens of policy pledges but have yet to show their workings out in terms of how they are going to pay for everything.

Kemi needs to make it clear she is tough on law and order. None of this trying wishy-washy trying to understand the causes of crime, but instead a robust approach on dealing with those who persistently break the law. This also means ensuring police officers spend their time tackling proper crime and not visiting someone who wrote something a bit nasty on social media.

She also needs to make it abundantly clear that she has a ready to go solution to tackling the small boat crisis with a clear proposition on leaving the ECHR and putting the original Conservative plan of the Rwanda scheme on steroids.

This will show that her Conservative government would be serious about having a brutal deterrent in place to stop people entering these shores illegally.

I recently took a bet with a fellow political pundit that we will have a general election before 2029 as I believe that unless Labour can turnaround the economy, the country will be in crisis. This is why Kemi must immediately show voters what she and her party are about as she does not have the luxury of time.

If she does this with the style, personality and plain speaking we saw on last week's Daily Expresso podcast interview, then the electorate will take notice.

The Conservative Party is one of the world's most successful political forces, it gave our country the leaders of Winston Churchill and Margaret Thatcher. People will vote Conservative again, but they must be left in no doubt about what the party stands for and it is Kemi's job this week to deliver that message.