This Kemi Badenoch pivot is either genius or desperation in face of Reform UK

OPINION

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch is apparently pivoting towards the economy in a bid to steal a march on Reform UK. The Conservatives seem to believe Labour has failed on the economy while Reform is weaker on this issue than on immigration. Desperation or genius on the part of leader Badenoch? Well, on the one hand, Tory grandees like George Osborne are right: it helps little to chase Reform. After all, who would trust the Tories over Nigel Farage when it comes to migration anyway?

Little wonder polling finds Reform is more trusted on immigration control than the other main parties. Yet while Britain Elects found the Tories are now more trusted on the economy than Labour, Freshwater Strategy also found Reform was more trusted on the economy than either Labour or the Tories. This highlights the risks for Badenoch in changing lanes - less woke and more tax - since the outgoing Tory government hardly covered itself in glory in economic terms either.

From record debt and anaemic growth to an ongoing productivity problem, 14 years of the Conservatives were hardly a showstopper, and that's before botching Brexit and the "Boriswave" of record immigration.

In one sense Farage has little to worry about. Still, Reform's economic policies are less understood than its migration policies, if not outright condemned. Economists have so far warned of an £80bn hole in public finances should Farage become Prime Minister.

This prompted a quick defence by Reform deputy leader Richard Tice who argued in the Telegraph that cutting corporation tax and income tax from lower-paid workers, among other policies, were just what the doctor ordered for broke Britain.

Frankly, even if Reform needs to refine its economic policies, are the Tories really in any position to judge either on economic or immigration policy given 14 years of misery?

As for Labour, yes recent GDP growth will ease pressure on Chancellor Rachel Reeves but is anyone going to trust Sir Keir Starmer's party more on prudent economic management than City men Farage and Tice?

To be clear, Reform is not the party of Thatcherism redux anyway. The party's rebrand involves Singapore-style economic interventionism when in the national interest rather than flog-the-family-silver Toryism.

This is stealing votes from Labour as well as the Conservatives. While the Tories could cite this as an example of economic confusion on Farage's part, who would take Badenoch's party seriously on this issue anyway?

Strategic perhaps, but the Tory pivot to the economy looks more like clutching at straws given Reform's dynamite opinion poll rating. Yes, Reform needs more flesh on the policy bones, but the Conservatives' latest strategy is unlikely to keep Farage up at night.