Ruth Davidson:
Under a new leader, the Tory party can win back voters with a vibrant post-brexit vision of the UK
The year 1834 is an interesting one in British history: the Palace of Westminster was gutted by fire, we saw four prime ministers in a single year, the Tolpuddle martyrs were sentenced to a penal colony, slavery was abolished across most of the British Empire and Harrods opened its doors as a grocers in East London. It was also the year the Conservative Party was formed.
Now, some fevered commentators are beginning to whisper that maybe – just maybe – the 185-year history of arguably the most successful democratic party in the world could be coming to an end. That the current impasse over Brexit will lead to some form of break-up or breakaway. Others suggest that recent poor polling indicates that support is in terminal decline. Nonsense.
Don’t get me wrong, the polls are not looking good. And I’ve made my frustration known at the fact that they are unlikely to rebound while some believe it’s better to sit this Euroelection out than hit the doorsteps and make the case for voting Tory. It simply isn’t in me to shirk a fight – it is our responsibility as elected representatives to take every opportunity to put the Conservative case to the country.
I say that fully in the knowledge that if ever there were the conditions for a “protest vote” election, this is it – an election we were told would never happen, to an institution we were already supposed to have left, with MEPS only supposed to take their seats for a couple of months before they are back out the door again.
It’s also where votes on one issue are largely likely to be twisted or
co-opted for other means. In Scotland, the SNP will claim any advance means Scotland would rather stay in the EU and leave the UK than the other way around – although it means nothing of the sort – whereas Uk-wide Brexit Party success is likely to have cheerleaders claiming the populace would rather have a no-deal Brexit than a managed withdrawal. I suspect, like the English local elections, it is more a kick to both Tory and Labour parties for not getting Brexit done.
And while we remain pretty happy warriors in the north – taking on the SNP, making gains at council, Holyrood and Westminster levels and setting our sights on forming the next Scottish government – I have seen the gloom descend on our supporters and activists in other parts of the UK.
The local elections were a proper kicking. We lost more than 1,000 good men and women working hard in their communities and demonstrating Tory values on the ground. As an exercise in “show, not tell” of the advantages of voting Conservative, our councillors are invaluable. They are also often the focal point to build campaigns around and the stalwarts that deliver national messages at a local level. To then have a “free hit” Euro election a few weeks later, when lots of people will find the opportunity to kick the Government overwhelming, I can understand why many of our activists are downhearted.
But politics is a fickle business and fortune can turn very quickly. It requires some constants – hard work, belief, endeavour, a national narrative the country can buy into and good political communication. But it also needs to speak to people’s concerns. Right now, the overwhelming issue dominating every pub chat or dinner-party conversation is Brexit. We need to get a deal done, so there’s space to discuss everything else.
That’s why I continue to support the Prime Minister in bringing a deal back to Parliament and why I urge all MPS to start finding common ground, get the deal over the line and let the country move on. When that moment comes, it will be a huge reset button to political debate. Parliament and the airwaves will no longer be dominated by procedural points. There will be space for a post-brexit vision for our country to emerge.
The Prime Minister has also given a broad timetable for her departure following the reintroduction of a deal to Parliament. New leadership brings with it the chance for renewal and floods the political landscape with oxygen. However, a party of government, one that has spent years in office and delivered one of the most gruelling peacetime events, will have to work hard to grasp that opportunity.
So members will need to be wise in picking a successor when the time comes. Someone who is striking enough to make the public look again at a party they think they already know. It must be someone prepared to reach beyond the divisions of the referendum and bring the country back together – to show a vision of our collective future that brings people with them.
Not just a return to our reputation for competence, which has taken a severe hit, but also an ability to explain our reasoning. As Tories, we never get the benefit of the doubt when it comes to motive, so we need to articulate the “why” as well as the “what”.
Collective responsibility and party discipline must be restored – the current trend for some journalists to be practically live-briefed on Cabinet discussions is unedifying, to say the least. We also need a broad offer to the wider public to come and join us, recruiting both new members, as well as those who are happy to campaign or donate but would rather not sign up for a membership card, thanks all the same. And a specific offer to those groups we know don’t vote for us in large numbers – the young, ethnic minority voters. They need to know they’re valued and we’re on their side.
Smart and realistic campaigning is essential, with good data modelling and the patience to execute a two election strategy in some seats, while targeting immediate success in others. But above all we must return to articulating a few key policies and values. After a quarter of a century’s stagnation and decline in Scotland, the electorate’s complaint about the Scottish Conservatives was that people didn’t know what we stood for. Hammering home a couple of key themes and reinforcing them at every event or election changed that. We’re starting to hear the same complaint about the UK party, so let’s articulate that post-brexit vision, let’s repeat and repeat three key policies on education, housebuilding and the economy. And, finally, let’s make it clear to people that we are no nostalgia party, looking to the past, but one with a clear idea of Britain’s future, the tools we need to get us there and the openness to bring the whole country with us. That’s how we win again.
Ruth Davidson is leader of the Scottish Conservatives
Let’s make it clear to people that we are no nostalgia party, but one with a clear idea of Britain’s future