Katie Lam Rise to potential party leader symbolises shift on migration

Peter Walker Senior political correspondent

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P ictured on her official website smiling on a country walk with her golden retriever, Katie Lam looks every inch the traditional Conservative MP. But make no mistake: this is a very modern breed of Tory, and one whose rise gives a clue to the current direction of UK politics.

Still only 34 and in parliament for little more than a year, Lam is named almost ubiquitously by fellow Conservatives as a probable future leader - even, some venture, a direct replacement for Kemi Badenoch.

Lam does have the sort of CV almost designed to impress Tory constituency associations, with its route from state school to Cambridge, Goldman Sachs, then stints as an aide in Downing Street and the Home Office.

It is when you look at Lam's X account that the picture becomes more complicated. Just about every single message is about migration or grooming gangs, with a heavy focus on crimes committed by asylum seekers. "We already have British sex criminals," one message reads. "We don't need any more!"