The Conservatives need a new vision to unite around

ONLY briefly in the last paragraph of his article [Comment, October 3] does Iain Dale diagnose the root cause of the Conservative Party’s problems. The internecine squabbles over party leadership or the tortured debate between a hard or soft Brexit are all mere symptoms of an existential malaise.

What does the Conservative Party stand for any more? In trying to ape Labour by making a small reduction in tuition fees or easing reluctantly the public-sector pay freeze, the Conservatives will always be a pale imitation of Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour.

Just as Labour has shifted Left, the Conservatives need to offer a real choice on the Right. What is wrong with a low corporation tax, low regulation economy that encourages entrepreneurship and innovation? Post-Brexit, would we rather be a version of Singapore or Venezuela? What’s wrong with a two-tier health service where the rich pay to expedite their treatment, filling the coffers of the NHS and thereby funding better services for everyone?

The Conservative Party is yearning for a radical, imaginative vision to unite around, one that offers real solutions to today’s pressing problems — not the diffident, embarrassed defence of conservatism that has become a hallmark of the party today.

PRITI Patel is living in a parallel universe when she claims the Conservatives are the party that “transforms lives”, as she did at the Tory conference on Tuesday.

The abysmally managed rollout of universal credit has left grown men and women having to go to food banks because they do not have sufficient money to feed themselves and their families. Schools are facing a terrible funding squeeze — in my area they are relying on the generosity of parental contributions to stay afloat financially. It is time ministers looked around themselves to see the real impact of their policies before making fanciful claims about their achievements.

FOR the first time since she arrived in power I saw a Theresa May who made me believe that if we go through Brexit under her leadership, we will be fine.

Her speech at the Conservative Party conference was uplifting and authoritative. She owned up for the mistakes made during the election campaign and pinpointed the areas which need improvement, most notably housing and tackling mental health provision.

Maybe her best attribute is leading in times of adversity. When Tory politicians appear to be at odds with each other she brings about unity. If the country will be harmed by the effects of Brexit, she can put us back on track.