Anderson and Braverman shout loudest, but one man has led the toxification of the Tories: Michael Gove | Andy Beckett

On the ever more common journey from the centre right to the far right, there are two contrasting routes conservative parties can follow. One is to welcome in demagogues such as Lee Anderson and Suella Braverman, and to borrow or indulge their extreme ideas, or only half-condemn them – thus publicising them further – in the hope that this cynical process will attract a wider range of reactionary voters. In countries widely thought of as nostalgic and disillusioned, such as contemporary Britain, it is assumed that there are a lot of these voters, however much the Tories’ terrible poll…