“There is a fight coming in British politics,” Kemi Badenoch told the Conservative Party at its annual conference on October 7th. The Tory leader promised a “battle of ideas(思想之战；观念交锋)” with the ruling Labour Party. “This party is now the no-drama(不闹剧的；无戏剧性冲突的) party,” she declared.
“英国政坛即将迎来一场战斗，”凯米·巴德诺赫在10月7日保守党年度大会上对该党成员说道。这位保守党领袖承诺将与执政的工党展开一场“思想之战”。“本党现在是一个不闹剧的政党，”她宣称。
The Tories are feeling more upbeat(乐观的；积极的) and less drama-ridden(闹剧缠身的；充满戏剧性冲突的) than they have for a while. This is mostly because they are pleased to have survived. Nigel Farage, the leader of Reform UK, has made it his mission to kill them off altogether and replace them as the dominant party of the right. This time last year he seemed to stand a chance(有机会；有希望). Reform was top of the opinion polls and had a 13-point lead over the Tories. Now, thanks to a modest(小幅的；适度的) recovery by the Conservatives and a big drop in support for Reform, that gap stands at just two points. (Labour, meanwhile, has moved back up to first place.)
保守党人比过去一段时间更加乐观，也不再那么闹剧缠身。这主要是因为他们庆幸自己挺了过来。英国改革党领袖奈杰尔·法拉奇把彻底消灭保守党、取代其成为右翼主导政党作为自己的使命。去年此时，他似乎还有机会。改革党当时在民调中位居榜首，领先保守党13个百分点。如今，由于保守党小幅回升、改革党支持率大幅下降，这一差距仅为2个百分点。（与此同时，工党已重回第一。）
Reform has also failed to hollow out(挖空；使空心化) Ms Badenoch’s flock(一群；一伙（人）) of MPs, having set a deadline of May this year for disaffected(不满的；心怀不满的) Tories to defect(叛逃；倒戈). They came in a trickle rather than a flood(涓涓细流而非洪水), with just four sitting parliamentarians swapping their blue rosettes for teal(蓝色玫瑰结换成蓝绿色). Reform has eight MPs to the Conservatives’ 118.
改革党也未能挖空巴德诺赫的议员队伍。该党曾设定今年5月为期限，呼吁心怀不满的保守党人倒戈。但叛逃者只是涓涓细流，而非洪水猛兽，仅有四名现任议员将蓝色玫瑰结换成蓝绿色。改革党有8名议员，而保守党有118名。
Never say never
永远别说永远
