Is the Conservative Party left or right in the UK?

The Conservative Party in the UK is right-wing-not just a little, but clearly, consistently, and increasingly so. It’s not a debate among experts. It’s not a matter of opinion. By every measurable standard-policy, history, voter base, and even internal party splits-it sits on the right side of the political spectrum. And in 2026, it’s farther right than it’s been in decades.

What does ‘right-wing’ actually mean in the UK?

In the UK, right-wing politics doesn’t mean the same thing as it does in the US. You won’t find UK conservatives pushing for armed militias or overthrowing the monarchy. Instead, right-wing here means support for free markets, lower taxes, strict immigration controls, national sovereignty, and a strong defense posture. It means resisting EU influence, opposing independence movements in Scotland and Wales, and favoring law-and-order policies over social experimentation.

The Conservative Party has held these beliefs since its founding in 1834. But in the 2010s, something changed. Brexit didn’t just shift policy-it rewired the party’s identity. Before 2016, most Conservatives were pro-EU. By 2018, over 260 Tory MPs had publicly backed leaving the bloc. That flip didn’t come from voters suddenly becoming eurosceptic. It came from party leaders chasing a more extreme base. And once you start chasing extremists, you don’t stop halfway.

Where the Conservatives stand today

As of January 2026, the Conservative Party’s official platform includes:

• Leaving the European Court of Human Rights
• Banning doctors from striking by law
• Deporting all illegal arrivals under the BORDERS plan
• Cutting legal immigration by 50,000 per year
• Tripling offshore wind capacity-while still opposing green subsidies for households

These aren’t centrist policies. They’re hardline. Leaving the ECHR? That’s a move only far-right governments in Poland or Hungary have made. Banning strikes by medical staff? That’s unprecedented in British history. And the immigration targets? They’re stricter than Australia’s or Canada’s.

Even their economic policies are right-wing. They promise tax cuts for higher earners, oppose wealth taxes, and refuse to raise corporation tax-even as the NHS struggles with 300,000 unfilled jobs. Their 2024 manifesto pledged to hire 92,000 more nurses. But they didn’t say how. No new taxes. No reallocation of spending. Just more borrowing. That’s classic right-wing economics: spend on popular services, but never pay for them.

Who’s to their right?

If the Conservatives are right-wing, who’s farther right? Reform UK. Led by Nigel Farage, Reform UK openly calls for mass deportations, full Brexit implementation, and the end of multiculturalism. In January 2026, Robert Jenrick-the Conservative justice spokesperson-defected to Reform UK, saying the Tories had “betrayed their voters.” He wasn’t alone. Three other senior Tories followed.

Reform UK now holds six seats in Parliament. But in polls, they’re ahead of the Conservatives in Scotland and Wales. Why? Because voters who used to vote Tory now see Reform UK as the only party that actually means what it says about borders and sovereignty. The Conservatives are stuck in the middle-trying to look tough on immigration while still pretending to be governable. Reform UK doesn’t care about governability. They care about winning.

Who’s to their left?

To the left of the Conservatives sits Labour, now in power under Keir Starmer. Labour is center-left. They support higher taxes on the wealthy, stronger workers’ rights, and maintaining ties with the EU on trade and security. They don’t want to leave the ECHR. They don’t want to ban strikes. They want to rebuild public services, not cut immigration to the bone.

Labour’s 2024 victory wasn’t because they won over conservatives. It was because the Conservatives lost so many moderate voters that Labour didn’t even need to move left to win. The Tories’ rightward shift pushed swing voters into Labour’s arms. And now, Labour’s polling lead over the Conservatives is 12 points-the biggest gap since 1997.

Who votes for them?

The Conservative Party’s support is shrinking fast-but it’s not disappearing. They still hold 47% of voters aged 65 and older. That’s their base. Older voters care about pensions, national security, and keeping the Union together. They remember Thatcher. They distrust immigrants. They don’t trust Labour.

But among voters under 25? Only 14% support them. That’s not a blip. That’s a collapse. Young people see the Conservatives as out of touch, anti-environment, and hostile to social progress. The party’s membership has dropped from 200,000 in 2023 to 172,000 in 2025. Meanwhile, Labour’s membership is growing. The party’s future depends on an aging voter base that won’t be around forever.

Why does this matter now?

Because the May 2026 elections in Scotland and Wales are a test. If the Conservatives win fewer than 10 seats combined, they’ll be politically irrelevant in those nations. If they lose their last Scottish seat, they’ll be wiped off the map in the north. That’s not hypothetical. It’s happening.

And inside the party? There’s a war. One side wants to return to the “One Nation” conservatism of Benjamin Disraeli-moderate, inclusive, focused on social cohesion. The other side wants to become the UK’s version of the Republican Party: populist, angry, anti-establishment. Kemi Badenoch, the current leader, is trying to hold the middle. But with Jenrick gone and Reform UK rising, the middle is collapsing.

What’s next?

The Conservatives have two paths. One: return to the center-right, embrace economic pragmatism, and rebuild trust with younger voters. Two: double down on right-wing populism, keep chasing Reform UK’s voters, and become a permanent third party.

Right now, they’re on path two. Their policy documents, their defections, their polling numbers-all point to it. They’re not just right-wing. They’re becoming a protest party for voters who feel abandoned by the system. And that’s not a position that lasts. It’s a position that ends.

Whether they survive as a major force depends on one question: Can a party that has moved so far right ever find its way back to the center? Or have they burned the bridge too thoroughly to cross it again?

Public perception: What do people really think?

A YouGov poll from January 2026 asked people: “Where would you place the Conservative Party on the political spectrum?”

• 42% said “right-wing”
• 31% said “centre-right”
• 15% said “centrist”
• 12% said “hard-right”

That’s not a split. That’s a consensus. More people think they’re right-wing than any other label. And even the “centre-right” voters aren’t saying they’re moderate-they’re saying they’re not as extreme as Reform UK. That’s not a compliment. That’s damage control.

On Trustpilot, the Conservative Party’s official website has a 2.3 out of 5 rating. Why? Because 68% of reviews say “hypocrisy on economic management.” People see the tax cuts for the rich and the cuts to services for everyone else. They don’t believe the promises anymore.

Historical context: How did we get here?

The Conservative Party didn’t always look like this. In the 1950s, they were the party of postwar reconstruction. In the 1970s, they were the party of compromise. Margaret Thatcher changed that. She turned them into a party of markets, not communities. But even she didn’t try to leave the ECHR or ban strikes.

What happened after her? The party lost its way. It chased the “angry white man” vote. It embraced nationalism over tradition. It turned immigration from a policy issue into a moral crusade. And now, it’s paying the price.

Professor Ian Shapiro from Yale put it best: “Brexit didn’t just change the UK’s relationship with Europe. It changed the Conservative Party’s relationship with itself.”

Final answer: Is the Conservative Party left or right?

It’s right. Not just right-wing. Right-wing in the way that matters-in policy, in voter base, in direction, and in identity. The party’s leadership knows it. The voters know it. Even their own defectors know it. The only people still pretending otherwise are those who haven’t looked at the numbers.

They’re not left. They’re not centrist. They’re not even really centre-right anymore. In 2026, the Conservative Party is a right-wing party with a fading future-and a very loud past.