The mood of the Conservatives’ annual conference is “far too positive”, Lord Frost has warned.
The Tory peer said Kemi Badenoch’s party, which is third in the polls, must accept it was in an “extremely bad situation” and “on the edge of ceasing to exist” as a political force.
Lord Frost told a fringe event: “The mood at this conference has been far too positive. We’ve got to start by acknowledging the mess we’re in.
“We’ve lost 10 million voters since the 2019 election. This is an appalling situation for a mainstream party.
“The obvious strategy of trying to recreate a proper strong Conservative party is now much more difficult, because there already is another one and it’s doing better than we are in the polls. It’s very easy to understand why people might go: ‘Why bother? One already exists’.
