Editorial Comment and Letters
Britain faces a political crisis. The Tories might try to brush it off: so what if the Prime Minister fluffed her speech? But the fact is that this conference season was supposed to be a chance to do what hadn’t been done in the election – compose a positive vision for Conservatism and sell it to the country. Instead, the season ends with Jeremy Corbyn appearing strong and the Prime Minister looking weak. This cannot continue. The Tory Party has got to restore some purpose and self-discipline.
Many voters will feel sympathy for the Prime Minister, and rightly so. Her soldiering on during the catastrophic speech was an admirable example of British pluck. And she would be the first to insist that her personal embarrassment isn’t a reflection upon the wider state of the country. Britain is essentially strong. The past seven years of austerity, while tough, have proved that when the government gets out of their way, the people can flourish: employment is at a record high. But now the country stands at a crossroads marked Brexit. The fifth round of talks between Michel Barnier and David Davis begin next Monday. Later this month, Mrs May will have to sit down with foreign leaders at the European Council summit. In November comes an all-important Budget. Decisions are due about Britain’s future that could affect the lives of generations to come.
And the only alternative to sensible Conservative leadership is almost too awful to contemplate. In any other context, Labour’s conference might have been considered a nightmare.
Its leader’s speech was a collection of barmy Marxist ideas that exploited painful social divisions. Labour is oblivious to economic facts, apparently unaware that it lost the election and, worst of all, is charged with harbouring anti-semites within its ranks. And yet, by identifying the resentments of so many voters with such ideological selfconfidence, Labour at least projected a sense of what it wants to do. It helps that Mr Corbyn has beaten down his party’s moderates and converted the careerists to his cause. Labour has learned to love Big Brother.
By contrast, the Tory Cabinet remains a coalition – and Mrs May’s speech tried to appeal as much to the varying tastes of her own ministers as it did the wider country. She praised free markets yet pledged a cap on energy prices. For the modernisers, there was endorsement of foreign aid; for the hawks, enthusiasm for defence. She promised to defend and expand British sovereignty, yet also to be friendly and cooperative with Europe.
Those last points are reconcilable, but while explaining her own vision of good government – which is far more activist than anything seen in Toryism since the Seventies – she gave the impression of having asked her ministers what they wanted, stuck it in, and watered it down to keep the Chancellor happy. For instance, if the Government wants to solve the housing problem, it should dramatically expand private supply – not build a small number of new council houses, as Mrs May announced. The popularity of a radical like Mr Corbyn is testament to the scale of problems facing the voters. Tory policy has to be a lot bolder if it is going to rise to the challenge.
And there must be unity. There must be a return to effective Cabinet government.
Tony Blair encouraged the idea that a prime minister can govern through a personal court. All this does in practice is shield a leader from criticism and good advice, excluding some of the brightest talents from decision making. The top-down model clearly failed Mrs May during the election campaign.
As she looks around for support in the coming days, she’ll find plenty of talent around the table that is willing and able to help – a point that Amber Rudd, the Home Secretary, makes opposite. Presentation is important but delivery is crucial, and, as Mrs May said repeatedly in her speech, what matters isn’t the shenanigans of Westminster but implementing good policy that improves people’s lives. The Cabinet must put aside its philosophical and personal differences, agree what it wants and make the case for it.
It’s extraordinary that after a general election and conference this point still has to be raised, but there are still details about the post-brexit plan that are missing. The Tory party has done its best to adjust the new realities of Brexit, yet the divisions which remain prove that the political crisis they face isn’t wholly of their own making but a legacy of the EU referendum itself. Last year, the British people tore apart political convention. Mr Corbyn has seized the opportunities. The Conservatives have yet to fully exploit the public thirst for change and freedom.
What no one wants is more plotting, fudging and uncertainty. Now is the time for all good Tories to come to the aid of their party – and their country. To agree to a course and take it.
‘The Cabinet needs to put aside its differences, agree what it wants and make the case for it’
‘The Conservative Party has yet to fully exploit the public thirst for change and freedom’