Politicians must now deliver on promises

Gaps on the benches behind Theresa May in the Commons yesterday were emblematic of a changing political landscape. Normally, the chamber is packed to the gunwales for Prime Minister’s Questions with Tory MPS enthusiastic in their support for their leader. But Mrs May has just a week left in office and for her penultimate appearance before MPS many were seemingly indifferent to what she had to say.

When power drains away the effect is tangible. Neither of the two men vying to succeed her as prime minister was in the House as they prepared for the final hustings at the end of an inordinately long leadership contest.

Mrs May announced her intention to resign on May 24. Two months is far too long for this process, which was designed by the Tories when they were in opposition and could afford such procrastination. But it is unsuitable for a party in government and the rules need to be changed to avoid a similar episode in future. Nevertheless, the leadership saga has allowed the Conservative Party to parade its most talented politicians before the country and to engage in an exchange of ideas. Inevitably, the contest has been dominated by Brexit since it is the failure to deliver the result of the 2016 referendum that was Mrs May’s undoing.

But there has also been a debate over the future of conservatism after Brexit, with welcome pledges of tax cuts and fresh incentives to enterprise to the fore from both Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt.

There had been concern that the contest would deepen the divisions in the party and lead to a breakdown in personal relations. The one televised debate at times seemed to justify that anxiety.

Yet the two candidates have come together, not least on Brexit with Mr Hunt no longer as implacably opposed to no deal as he had been at the outset. Neither candidate wants to leave the EU without an agreement on how future trading relationships might develop but unless it is made quite clear that October 31 is now considered the absolute deadline for leaving, the foot-dragging that destroyed Mrs May’s premiership will continue.

In her valedictory speech at Chatham House in London, Mrs May reflected on her defenestration, identifying a refusal of opponents to compromise and what she called a “rise of absolutism” in political discourse. This was pushing the country to a “much darker place” with a coarsening of debate and a lurch into rancorous tribalism.

There was a belief that “if you simply assert your view loud enough and long enough, you will get your way in the end”. This was, she added, “corrosive to the democratic values which we should all be seeking to uphold”. There is something in this. The requirements of roundthe-clock news outlets and social media lead to instant, often ill-judged, reactions, half-baked policies and instantly forgotten pledges that are never going to be fulfilled.

This is what is really corrosive of public confidence in the political process. A prevailing sense that what politicians promise they rarely deliver is behind much of the populist upsurge that Mrs May laments. It is not the failure to compromise that dismays voters but a suspicion they are being taken for fools. It was Mrs May who said on umpteen occasions that “no deal is better than a bad deal” and yet she now concedes as she leaves office that she never really meant it. If voters are to be disappointed by another prime minister promising something that is left undelivered, faith in politicians will diminish further.

Factionalism is hardly a new phenomenon nor necessarily an unhealthy one since politics is a clash of strongly held ideas and none are more strongly held than those concerning Europe. The release of archives from John Major’s time as prime minister serves as a reminder that Mrs May is not the only Tory leader to be tormented by the issue. It is almost certainly a forlorn hope, but Remainers and Leavers in the party need to come together and ensure the next one is not destabilised in the same way.

It is not the failure to compromise that dismays voters but a suspicion that they are being taken for fools