Finding Amusement In this Downfall of the Conservative Party? It's Understandable – But Completely Wrong
On various occasions when Conservative leaders have seemed reasonably coherent superficially – and different periods where they have come across as completely unhinged, yet continued to be cherished by party loyalists. Currently, it's far from that situation. A leading Tory left the crowd unmoved when she presented to her conference, even as she offered the divisive talking points of migrant-baiting she believed they wanted.
This wasn't primarily that they’d all arisen with a renewed sense of humanity; rather they were skeptical she’d ever be equipped to deliver it. Effectively, a substitute. Tories hate that. An influential party member apparently called it a “themed procession”: boisterous, animated, but still a parting.
Future Prospects for this Party With a Decent Case to Make for Itself as the Most Historically Successful Political Organization in the World?
Some are having a fresh look at a particular MP, who was a definite refusal at the beginning – but as things conclude, and everyone else has left. Some are fostering a excitement around a newer MP, a 34-year-old MP of the 2024 intake, who appears as a traditional Conservative while wallpapering her online profiles with immigration-critical posts.
Could she be the leader to challenge Reform, now leading the incumbents by 20 points? Is there a word for beating your rivals by becoming exactly like them? And, should one not exist, surely we could adopt a term from combat sports?
When Finding Satisfaction In Such Events, in a How-the-Mighty-Are-Fallen Way, in a Just-Deserts Way, It's Comprehensible – But Absolutely Bananas
It isn't necessary to consider overseas examples to understand this, or reference the scholar's influential work, Conservative Parties and the Birth of Democracy: every one of your synapses is screaming it. Centrist right-wing parties is the essential firewall preventing the radical elements.
Ziblatt’s thesis is that political systems endure by satisfying the “elite classes” happy. I have reservations as an guiding tenet. One gets the impression as though we’ve been indulging the privileged groups for decades, at the cost of everyone else, and they don't typically become quite happy enough to halt efforts to make cuts out of disability benefits.
However, his study isn’t a hunch, it’s an archival deep dive into the pre-Nazi German National People’s Party during the Weimar Republic (in parallel to the England's ruling party circa 1906). When the mainstream right becomes uncertain, when it starts to adopt the terminology and symbolic politics of the radical wing, it cedes the control.
Previous Instances Showed Some of This In the Referendum Aftermath
The former Prime Minister associating with an influential advisor was a notable instance – but radical alignment has become so pronounced now as to eliminate competing Conservative messages. Where are the old-school Conservatives, who treasure stability, preservation, governing principles, the UK reputation on the global scene?
Why have we lost the progressives, who described the country in terms of powerhouses, not powder kegs? To be clear, I had reservations regarding either faction too, but the contrast is dramatic how those worldviews – the inclusive conservative, the modernizing wing – have been erased, in favour of relentless demonisation: of migrants, Islamic communities, welfare recipients and demonstrators.
Take the Platform to Themes Resembling the Theme Tune to the Television Drama
While discussing issues they reject. They portray demonstrations by elderly peace activists as “festivals of animosity” and use flags – union flags, English symbols, all objects bearing a splash of matadorial colour – as an clear provocation to individuals doubting that being British through and through is the ultimate achievement a individual might attain.
There appears to be no any inherent moderation, where they check back in with fundamental beliefs, their own hinterland, their original agenda. Each incentive the Reform leader offers them, they’ll chase. So, no, it’s not fun to watch them implode. They’re taking social cohesion into the abyss.