It's still a month to polling day, but the Conservative Party's civil war has already kicked off

From the Guardian this evening:

Jeremy Hunt has warned the Conservatives that elections are won from the centre ground, amid fears that the party could lurch to the right in response to Nigel Farage’s return to frontline politics.

In an interview with the Guardian, the chancellor suggested the party must remain a “broad church” despite concerns that Reform UK could cost the Tories as many as 60 seats at the general election.

It's several years too late, but at least Hunt has said something about his party's rapid journey to a strange planet many light years away. 

But Margaret Thatcher called moderate Tories "wets" for a reason. 

In his Guardian interview, says the paper, Hunt:

hinted that the party could promise to try to “reform” the ECHR instead, rather than withdraw entirely.

“We need to be able to have control of our borders. That has to be decided by elected politicians, accountable to voters through parliament, not by foreign courts,” he said. 

“You’ll need to wait on [the manifesto] but I think what we would all like to see is reform of the ECHR.”

This concedes three-quarters of the Reform case before any debate has begun. He's going to have to fight harder than that if he wants to save a recognisable Conservative Party.