Kemi who? Time is running out for Badenoch ahead of Tory conference

As members gather in Manchester, many believe only a new leader can save them from extinction

- Rachel Sylvester Political Editor

When people in focus groups are asked to name the leader of the Conservative party most just look blank. "Sometimes someone will say a name, but often they will get it wrong," says the pollster Andrew Cooper, who was the Tories' director of strategy under David Cameron.

"In focus groups all over the country, not a single person has been able to think of a thing Kemi Badenoch has said or done since she became leader. The biggest risk for the Tories is that they are drifting to irrelevance."

As the Conservatives head to their party conference in Manchester this week, Badenoch is struggling to cut through with an electorate increasingly disillusioned by mainstream politics. Nigel Farage is hoovering up attention and last month Danny Kruger became the first sitting Conservative MP to switch to Reform, declaring his old party was "over as the principal opposition to the left". The Conservatives are averaging 17% in the polls, down from 24% at the general election last year.

To make matters worse, new polling for The Observer suggests that the Tories are failing what political strategists call the "brand contamination test". An Opinium survey found that the party's reputation is so toxic that when people are asked what they think of policies they are significantly less likely to support them if they know they are Conservative plans. On five key policies around tax, immigration, education and climate change, there is an average six-point drop in public backing for proposals as soon as they are associated with Badenoch's party.