Occupying lofty positions of power, the Conservative right, demonstrating an angelic patience, have chosen to spare Rishi Sunak, disregarding the tribulations the party is currently facing at the polls. Wait, pardon? If the Tories face a thrashing in the impending UK election, blame can primarily be attributed to these individuals. One must question the source of their audacity and the reason why impartial viewers entertain such arrogance.
Upon examining a graph of the UK’s voting tendencies throughout the existing UK parliament, a key turning point was highlighted in the first week of December 2021. During this period, Labour surpassed the Tories, as shocking revelations about Boris Johnson, a favourite of the right, came to light. Johnson was found to have coordinated a 10 Downing Street where staff indulged in parties during a moment of national lockdown. Another significant upheaval occurred in September 2022; Liz Truss, chosen over Sunak by the right, sent the pound plummeting with a “mini-budget” comprised of unbacked tax reductions. As a result, Labour’s lead expanded from significant to insurmountable.
Adding to this controversy is the matter of Brexit, the right’s fundamental scheme, which is now looked upon favourably by only one out of every three voters. During spring 2021, more people began to believe that the decision to leave was inappropriate rather than the right one. Concurrently, and perhaps not coincidentally, the Tories’ popularity began to plummet, a slide from which it has yet to recover.
I am certainly open to different interpretations of this data. However, lacking a convincing alternative, it is evident that the central reasons for the Conservatie party’s stumble – partygate, the mini-budget and Brexit – all sprang from the right. Despite this, this faction of the Conservatives maintains the presumption that Sunak received and subsequently squandered a lucrative legacy from them. We should allow our reluctant admiration for their audacity to distract us momentarily from the essential task of deconstructing their assertions one by one.
[ Tories suffer their worst local election performances in decades adding fuel to the party’s internal dispute regarding its future. ]
The Conservative party finds itself in dire straits largely due to the influence of the populist right. Rishi Sunak is a part of the problem to the extent that he once belonged to this faction himself; he was a proponent of Brexit and a supporter of Johnson. Thus, it is his significant role in the current condition of the party, rather than his brief 19-month term as prime minister, that has been more harmful. Despite his lack of popularity among voters, merely replacing him wouldn’t fix the Tories misshapen image – they could put David Attenborough in charge and still receive widespread disdain. The damage incurred during 2021-22 might take as long as a decade to mend.
The scenario doesn’t make sense if you believe the Conservatives are faltering due to the slow pace of the Rwanda asylum scheme, considering that the country seems to be on the brink of voting in a Labour government that plans to immediately dismantle it.
In any situation involving a failure, there are always those who frown upon assigning blame and re-examining the circumstances that led to it. However desirable their outlook might seem, it’s necessary to ignore it if we are to make any progress. It’s crucial for the Conservatives to identify the actual source of their downfall and publicly condemn them. Labour in 1979, the Tories in 1997, and Labour once more in 2010 made the mistake of not doing this, which sentenced those governments to lengthy stints as the opposition.
The right does offer valuable insights. For instance, the decision to enact the “net zero” law as a farewell gesture by Theresa May in 2019 represents one of Britain’s superficial and symbolic tendencies at its worst. The influence of the “woke” movement is more ominous than liberals, who are generally averse to antagonising their left-wing allies, are prepared to openly admit.
Brexit was arguably the most catastrophic blunder in a hundred years. But once it transpired, the smart move would have been to take a more Dominic Cummings-like approach – one that entails a targeted deregulation and a complete restructuring of the state. Instead, we chose to exit the single market, endorse the principles of big-government conservatism, erect trade barriers with Europe, and tolerate steep taxes. It’s almost as if we were deliberately attempting to waste money in the most conspicuous manner possible.
This column isn’t intended to contest every assertion from the right, rather, its distinct and virtually psephological objective is to underscore the unpopularity of the right and its responsibility for the imminent political thrashing. Allowing this group to shift blame would shape the Conservative counteraction. If this happens, an electable alternative to Labour would not exist in Britain.
In hindsight, it would have been healthier for the UK’s civic vitality if Johnson, Truss or Braverman had been permitted to usher the Conservatives into a comprehensive electoral defeat. Sunak’s ascendance, however, created a seam for the right to evade blame, an opportunity broadened by Cameron’s agreement to join the cabinet the previous autumn. The election might be several months away, but one could already forecast the right-wing narrative: We lost because we surrendered to insipid centrism. The Labour party bets on the Tories being naive enough to buy into this. – Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2024