A new book by Tory MPs elected last year exposes a yearning for a more authentically Conservative agenda
It must be hard for new Conservative MPs. After years of loyalty to David Cameron, even with the strong tailwinds of 2010 he could not secure their birthright: victory at a general election. As these new-intake MPs point out at the start of their new book, After the Coalition, he might be a Conservative prime minister, but he does not lead a Conservative government. So this book is a natural response. It is a defence of the Conservative ideal: free markets; personal responsibility; anti-state, anti-trade union individualism.
Their narrative recalls Margaret Thatcher. They pooh-pooh socialism. They attack so-called statism in favour of individualism and just deserts. The BBC and union barons get a bashing. But I think even for some of their Tory colleagues their analysis will go too far. Britain is ‘work-shy’ and they describe the ‘unqualified success’ of privatisation with little mention of the energy and rail fare inflation hurting all of our constituents.
The detail of their analysis is interesting, though. On the economy they are quick to ‘prove’ that overspending between 2001 and 2007 caused current budget deficits, not global events in 2008-9. But their answer is complimentary to Labour: they wish to keep our golden rule – to balance the budget over the economic cycle – and extend it by asking the Office for Budget Responsibility to adjudicate on whether the government has achieved it. Their support for rules-based economic policy is a continuation of New Labour ideas, even if this goes unacknowledged.
High pay in the private and public sector is rightly acknowledged as ‘artificially distorted’. As they say, rent-seeking behaviour must end. But the public’s everyday concerns – pay, prices and jobs – barely figure. Given greater emphasis is the importance of reducing ‘idleness’ and the benefits bill. Their answer – conditionality and time-limited benefits, with more personal insurance – may appear initially attractive, but shifting the cost of unemployment from state to individual while pay packets shrink will be a hard sell. Most people hate freeloading, but it is surprising there is little here on tackling inflation, low growth and poor demand.
Similarly, an overly simplistic analysis fails to treat care work differently from manufacturing or business processing, while education policy is largely a restoration of elitism. In an uncertain world, the answer these Conservatives give is more risk and uncertainty to the individual. But the fact is that, with falling living standards and a tough labour market, ‘take your chances’ rhetoric is not what voters are looking for.
There is a hint for progressives in all this. Conservatives still resentful of the coalition want to show their true-blue colours, but each step they take to prove themselves redblooded Thatcherites is a pace away from where the public are. Our job is to demonstrate we understand the public’s worries. We know that times are hard, but in government again we will take concrete steps to better their lot. Let’s capitalise on these Conservatives’ mistakes, and show them for the backward-looking ideologues they are.
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Alison McGovern is MP for Wirral South. After the Coalition: A Conservative Agenda for Britain is written by Kwasi Kwarteng, Priti Patel, Dominic Raab, Chris Skidmore and Liz Truss
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People in the street may not know the causes of the banking collapse they do know who was in power, I see a lot of the labour bubble try to tell us look the Tories did not win out right victory which is true thankfully.
But Labour were hammered it’s now much easier at the next election for the Tories to get a victory and not need a coalition, it was always going to be hard for the Tories to win out right, but Labour should not be looking why the Tories struggled , it should be asking why we were hammered.
I can tell you now Miliband speech did not go down well with people in my area, he attacked the Union again saying Thatcher was right to end the closed Shop it was right to bring in ballots, ah yes the same Unions which keep a New labour government going because it broke the law getting donations for peerages.
High pay in the private sector, well how about my labour council who has the top job paid at £300,000 he was given a £16,000 pay rise last year and we were told to stop head hunters, then work down the list of the people below him and it’s a disgrace.
But of course we all knew about PFI Labour gone councils and the NHS and schools have to now repay these massive over paid over priced contracts.
The NHS 11 Billion for a failed computer system the CSA, the tax office the Flight controllers labour love of computers above people has lost them a lot of credence with people, I’m sorry knocking the Tories over what they are doing after what you have done, like children telling the teachers why they are late.
Now we have Caroline Flints plans for social housing, give it to people who have jobs, so if next year a BAE chap walks in says to labour look I need a council house I’ve lost my home cannot pay the mortgage, ah yes sir do your have a job, no , sorry only people with jobs.
The sick and the disabled are now the Labour parties Jews, not a lot of good Miliband losing his temper to tell us my parents were immigrants, I’m a bloody immigrant in my own country now.
And before you say bloody Tory I was in the party a dam sight longer then a lot of MP’s we have now, who seem to join the Labour party a few months before becoming MP’s