Tory Tribes
The Wets and Drys. The Maastricht Rebels. The Notting Hill Set. The Conservative Party has long done a first class job of factionalism. Whereas Labour splits seem carved in stone, based on decades-old feuds and theoretical arguments, Tory gangs form and break up with great pace, something accelerated in recent years by both the changing demographic of its voters and ease of setting up a WhatsApp group.
The European Research Group is the best-known gang of recent years, and took the unusual step of running its own whipping operation during the Theresa May years. Ultimately the group can claim the credit – or blame – for May’s downfall. But most of these shifting factions are less explosive, and while they can create short-term problems for governments – the China Research Group has been a headache over the 5G roll-out – they could also be part of the explanation for the Tories’ long-term success. They create places where different political positions and problems can be explored, according to Tim Bale, professor of politics at Queen Mary University of London. “They can allow the party to grow into things safely, rather than jarringly,” he said. “The whole point of the Conservative party is that it morphs to keep power. The Conservatives don’t exactly let a thousand flowers bloom, but there are a lot of plants in that garden.”
So who are the chrysanthemums of the 2021 Tory Party, and who’s the Japanese knotweed? Assembling our spotter’s guide to Conservative tribes, it soon became clear that it’s more helpful to think of this as a very complicated Venn Diagram: Iain Duncan Smith and Tom Tugendhat, for instance, had different attitudes to Brexit but work together on China.
It’s also striking who isn’t there. Although the Conservatives gained seats in the 2019 election, they also ejected MPs who weren’t willing to support the Boris Johnson approach to Brexit. That included former cabinet members who might otherwise have been expected to dispense wisdom from the backbenches. There are now only two Tory backbenchers who have held any of the great offices of state: May and Jeremy Hunt.
Although Hunt may seem on the young side for a grandee, his 16 years in parliament make him unusually experienced among today’s Conservatives. At the last election, 97 Tories entered parliament for the first time, more than a quarter of the party. According to psephologists’ bible The British General Election of 2019, to be published in November, a majority of MPs at the start of this parliament had less than five years’ experience in the job. And much of the last two years has been spent under Covid restrictions, meaning new MPs have had much less chance to get to know colleagues.
Their backgrounds are shifting, too, if more slowly than is sometimes believed. The authors found a record 38 per cent of Tories had attended comprehensive schools. Eton’s contribution to Parliament is at a record low, though with 11 MPs it is still the most commonly attended school – and three of its alumni are in the Cabinet.