Tragedy that lays bare the challenge of uniting a divided Britain

The great Conservative prime minister Benjamin Disraeli, known as the founder of the modern Tory Party, issued a chilling warning about the dangers of social and economic division in a famous novel almost 200 years ago.

Disraeli declared in his book Sybil that Britain had turned into ‘two nations between whom there is no intercourse and no sympathy; who are as ignorant of each other’s habits, thoughts, and feelings, as if they were dwellers in different zones, or inhabitants of different planets. The rich and the poor’.

As far as Disraeli was concerned, it was the task of the Conservative Party to bind those two nations together. Otherwise, he predicted, the Conservatives would face extinction as a national party — and deservedly so.

The heart-rending loss of life in the Grenfell tower block in West London this week demonstrates that two nations still exist in Britain today. Many of those who died lived in a way that could hardly have been more different to their neighbours in the more affluent areas of Notting hill just a few hundred yards away.

Pictures taken from a helicopter of the burning husk of Grenfell tower reveal rows of brown brick flats close to the tower block and, just beyond, the white stuccoed crescents where well-heeled families reside in houses worth £10-£20 million.

This part of West London was, of course, home territory to former prime minister David Cameron and his friends in the ‘Notting hill Set’ — the clique which formed the informal nerve centre of the Tories throughout Mr Cameron’s time as leader.

Of course, that is no coincidence. David Cameron’s moral and social universe — just like Tony Blair’s — was inhabited by the investment bankers, hedge fund managers, aristocrats and Russian oligarchs who could afford expensive West London houses.

This was a world where, in the words of Tony Blair’s amoral consigliere Peter Mandelson, it was perfectly all right for people to get ‘filthy rich’.

But as the wealth multiplied under David Cameron and Tony Blair, so did the social divide in many areas of Britain. Now the horrible suspicion lurks that had the Grenfell residents been better off, nobody would have taken such appalling risks with their safety.

MANy Grenfell survivors actually believe the fire was a deliberate attempt to get rid of them. While plainly nonsense, this conspiracy theory shows the depth of distrust and suspicion that exists between the strata of British society.

This week’s tragedy has caused a rent in our social fabric because so many of the victims were from the lower end of the income scale. For that reason it has rapidly become a testy political issue. yesterday there were ugly scenes when angry crowds burst into Kensington Town hall, and jeered Theresa May amid scuffles with the police. In such circumstances, a Tory prime minister inevitably becomes a target for those seeking a focus for their anger.

Conversely, since the disaster, whatever you think of his motives, Jeremy Corbyn has come across as being the most concerned politician, being pictured hugging a series of people near the charred tower. Just as David Cameron and Tony Blair were prime ministers for the rich, Mr Corbyn has positioned himself as the spokesman for the less well off.

Some have criticised him for milking political advantage by blaming the Tories and the cuts for the Grenfell catastrophe — and they make a reasonable point. At this stage, nobody knows exactly who or what caused the disaster. It is far too early to point blame. Meanwhile, Mr Corbyn’s demands that the empty houses of wealthy but absent foreigners should be made available to those who’ve lost their homes this week are not only playing to the crowd, they are half-witted. They also have chilling overtones of that old Left-wing slogan that all property is theft and should therefore become the possession of the State.

For all that, Mr Corbyn has found a voice to comfort the bereaved. The stilted language used by Mrs May when she visited Grenfell just after the disaster recalls the awful performance of William hague following the death of Diana.

A spokesman for Mrs May put her failure to meet victims down to ‘security concerns’. yet the arrival of the Queen and Prince William at the scene yesterday put this excuse in perspective.

It is another PR disaster for a Prime Minister whose position is already under grave pressure. however, all is not lost. Mrs May is better placed than she may seem to respond in a statesmanlike way to the Grenfell disaster. She should look to her early speeches as Prime Minister, when she promised to speak up for ordinary hardworking people. She promised a society where we all look out for each other. This has to be right.

Take the case of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, where Grenfell tower is located. This is the most affluent borough in Britain, home to some of Britain’s wealthiest inhabitants.

yet the Conservative leaders of this borough have repeatedly-boasted of how low council taxes are. This may be down to prudent housekeeping but maybe it’s time residents started to fork out a bit more. Very low council tax is a bad thing if it means that safety is compromised in places like the Grenfell estate.

however, we shouldn’t think of this as merely a Conservative matter. While it may well be the case that Kensington and Chelsea were shockingly negligent, Labour councils are every bit as bad. Grenfell could have happened in Tower hamlets or Newham in east London.

Inevitably, one of the pressing issues that’s emerged this week is the question of housing provision in this country. Thousands of people still live in high-rise blocks which may be just as unsafe as Grenfell.

It’s clear that we urgently need to build more affordable flats and houses, not least in response to the rapid population rise since New Labour effectively ended border controls nearly 20 years ago.

however, building homes costs money, and — with Britain’s dizzying debt rising all the time — those funds are going to have to come from somewhere. That is a conundrum for the Prime Minister, but her most pressing task is to react to this disaster by acting decisively and in the interest of the nation as a whole.

Mrs May was a popular figure for a reason when she became Prime Minister. She’s an ordinary person who is emphatically not part of any social elite.

She’S every bit as much a fish out of water among the Notting hill Set as Jeremy Corbyn would be. yet unlike the Labour leader, she would not impose swingeing taxes on the wealthy — who can move from this country to any that they want.

I believe Mrs May is every bit as concerned about social justice as Mr Corbyn — which is why, for example, she has promised to raise the minimum wage again.

She is a true One Nation Conservative in the tradition of Disraeli — which is why this vicar’s daughter must strive to bring together the two Britains that sit cheek by jowl in West London.

Though her early response was awkward, she has done exactly the right thing by calling a fullscale public inquiry, and now committing £5 million to help victims.

She simply has to show that she cares — and then act accordingly to stop such a tragedy ever happening again.

The febrile crowds on the streets of Kensington yesterday had worrying echoes of the London riots of 2011. For that reason, and for the sake of those poor souls who perished this week, Mrs May must now show that she can unite this country.