Conclusion

This concluding chapter recaps the core findings of the book, that the Conservatives have tried to create a “new traditionalistic” politics (forging), deployed anti-democratic policies that technically stay within legal bounds (“bending”), and outright violations of legal constraints (“breaking”). The analysis reveals significant evidence of these strategies being employed by the party in government, particularly in the years following the Brexit referendum, which intensified the mainstreaming of illiberal tendencies within the party’s agenda. Despite these efforts, the Conservative Party experienced a dramatic electoral defeat in July 2024, suggesting that their illiberal strategies failed to secure long-term electoral success and may have even contributed to their unpopularity. The chapter argues that while their approach caused considerable damage to democratic norms, its failure to garner lasting electoral support offers a degree of reassurance to proponents of democracy. The chapter concludes by emphasising the need for the new Labour government to reverse these illiberal policies and implement deeper democratic reforms to safeguard the UK’s political system through the interlinked processes of ‘reversal’, ‘deepening’, and ‘entrenchment’.