The strange death of the Conservative Party

Hi All,

Well the high holidays are now over. It's like the feeling people get after Christmas and New year. But the good news is that I've been reading and reflecting. 

Which leads nicely to a political theme :  over the past months there's been article after article by both commentators of the left, right and centre about the crisis of conservatism or if I'd be more accurate , the crisis of the conservative party.  In short the feeling is that Labour is presenting a clear alternative to the current system and whatever you think of this socialist rehash they're winning on the policy and ideas front. Contrast this with what seems to be a rudderless conservative government, which is chronically divided on Brexit and offers only austerity : not just cutting back of expenditure , but also substantial tax rises as well.

This is important as there is an old adage that oppositions don't win elections, governments loose them. Sometimes you think the current government is deliberately trying to loose the next election, maybe arrogantly thinking no one would vote for Corbyn, despite all the contrary evidence. 

The matter to me seems that it's not a personnel issue , whatever one thinks of May's  non charismatic and inept managerial type of leadership.  It's not just Brexit: Labour is equally divided as the Conservatives. And austerity  has still enabled the Conservatives to squeak through to be the largest party at elections.

What them is the crisis of the conservative party? The party has in short forgotten what it is there to do or more accurately what it has done in the past.  It is not there to be a social and economic liberal party or a party obsessed with austerity or shrinking the state, it isn't even there to be a cipher for big business. In fact the conservative party exists to do two things, but they both involve being consistent guardsmen of the constitution and economy.

The first is to conserve , that is to keep , uphold  and renew the  constitution , the great institutions of our society and state and in economic terms provide a stable framework for business to operate, but for people to feel secure in work. If it is not broken don't fix it.

The second thing that the conservative party is there to do is to be peremptory when the economic framework, the  constitution, institutions and society needs change : to ensure that things are reformed or changed in such a way that prevents radical revolution down the line, but is sufficiently controlled to make it look like an evolutionary tract rather than a revolutionary one. 

The conservative party has done this in the past , since about 1867 and I would say explains why Britain never feel into a fascist dictatorship in the 1930s,  because there was a strong conservative bulwark against such radical ideologues.

If the conservative party actually took these two principles as its guiding light then issues such as Brexit and austerity would slot into place . 

Maybe I shall do further posts to expand upon this, but they're good examples of how the conservative party seems to think they're means to an end , without thinking what happens after the end.