And another one leaves the party. At this rate it feels as though I might end up as the only Conservative in the village although between ourselves I have not been shedding too many tears over some of the recent departures.
Most of those who have left to join Reform can hardly be described as team players and although mostly on the populist right wing of politics hold a multitude of views which will create tensions when it's time to write a manifesto or offer a serious programme for government.
The defection of Robert Jenrick, which grabbed the biggest headlines, might even be seen as a vote of confidence in the Conservative Party Leader Kemi Badenoch. I have no doubt if he thought Ms Badenoch was likely to step down or be removed from her role then he would have stayed on board to pursue his own leadership ambitions again. With no sign of a vacancy for the time being at least, he must have decided he could make a bigger splash elsewhere.
The danger for Reform is being seen as a retirement home for former Conservatives which would then undermine their ambition to be seen as a fresh force in British politics.
You can't have it both ways: how can you be offering something new, pointing out (as they see it) all that has gone wrong over the last few years, if you then start recruiting the sponsors of last week's show?
Suella Braverman Pic UK Parliament
How many times exactly was Suella Braverman sacked from ministerial positions over the last few years?
It was good of her to speak at a well attended dinner in Exeter last year and I listened with some interest. The few of you who study my thoughts will already know I get somewhat tired of folk banging on all the time about immigration given we are a country with a dramatically falling birth rate and an ageing population where we shall need to attract more economically active, working age citizens if we are to stay solvent.
I get beyond tired when I hear from politicians who themselves or their families have come here in relatively recent times and who seem to miss the irony when they start making anti immigration speeches, as Suella Braverman did on that occasion. Talk about "I'm alright Jack"!
I was further amused as this speech and questions (mostly on the same topic I seem to recall) came before dinner, which was served by a charming staff made up of nearly the entire United Nations. If I had been on their team and standing within earshot I would have been tempted to add a little flavouring to what was put in front of us.
Moving on, what also gets me going is this wretched mantra of "Broken Britain".
Where in the world do they see a model of excellence to which we might aspire? The dear old US of A which admittedly has a larger and stronger economy but limited health provision for the least well off, much higher crime rates (especially murder) and bitter divisions created by exactly the sort of policies the far right would like to see here?
I applaud Peter Moore's article in last week's Torbay Weekly describing a recent trip to London which has been transformed for the better over the last 40 years or so. London is now one of the great multi cultural cities of the world, where folk seem to rub along quite happily together and truly diverse.
Crime is actually lower than before, schools perform well, the place is cleaner, there's a real cultural buzz, exciting architecture and new transport links which make getting around quite easy.
Some of our other great cities aren't far behind. I enjoyed my visits to Leeds, Birmingham and Bristol. I hear good things about Liverpool, Manchester and Glasgow in particular.
Sadly it's the coastal towns which have got left behind and need to reinvent themselves to attract a younger population. We need to embrace the future as well as celebrate our past.
Britain isn't broken and the suggestion it is would be met with derision by ninety percent or more of the world's population.
My friends in South Africa for example endure high rates of crime (the murder rate is fifty times ours and there must be many of my wallets in circulation in Cape Town given the number I have lost over the years).
The climate is delightful, the scenery is stunning and the wine is cheap but deaths on the road are off the scale, power outages have been the norm, unemployment is high and life in the townships is grim.
Figures last week show OUR murder rate is at a 50-year low. Deaths as a result of road traffic accidents are a fraction of what they were in the 1960's and 1970's; life expectancy has increased by more than ten years during my lifetime and recovered from the COVID "dip"; we still have a free at the point of use health service which people are passionate to maintain.
Over 34 million people in the UK are in work, approximately 75 per cent of our working age population, far higher than on many occasions in our recent past and close to the 76 per cent record achieved just before COVID.
Just think of all the marvellous volunteers who roll up their sleeves and make a difference.
Above all we have a variety of rights and freedoms which must be the envy of those living in dictatorships around the globe. We can and do boot out our leaders (too often in my view) with all kinds of checks and balances in the system.
Of course things could be better. Poor housing and sluggish economic growth need sorting.
We need to have an honest debate about the level of taxation to fund good quality public services and defence. If we want tax cuts then what should we let go?
But the good outweighs the bad and we certainly aren't a "broken" country by any reasonable definition of that word.
You would think the far right might be a patriotic force in our politics, after all so many of their supporters wrap themselves in flags.
Trashing our country does not seem a very attractive vision to me.
