What’s Next for British Conservatism?

“While material prosperity should be a priority, it shouldn’t be the only priority. Simply possessing the latest consumer goods won’t provide a meaningful life that comes from a sense of dignity, purpose and responsibility rooted in community.”

On the long night of the 2017 General Election, when fate swung away from the Conservative Party towards Labour, British conservatives wondered where it all went wrong. Why had Labour, under Jeremy Corbyn, denied the Conservative Party a majority? The echoes of “nothing has changed” rang through the campaign from the release of the Conservative Party manifesto. Except, this wasn’t true then, and it is not the case now. Conservatism is in dire straits in Britain, divided and confused. The 2019 local elections and the subsequent European elections were a bloodbath. Now, in the context of the aftermath of these electoral catastrophes, alongside the ascension of Boris Johnson to Prime Minister, and the revitalization of American conservatism through the discussions around the National Conservatism conference, it is imperative that British conservatism find a way to evolve.

The problems facing the Tories partly reflect more short term factors like Brexit. According to polling, 64% of 2016 Leavers voted Brexit Party, 53% of 2017 Tory voters voted Brexit Party, 67% of Brexit Party voters want a No Deal Brexit, and 52% will stay with Farage if his Brexit Party runs in a general election. Finally, from the same poll, we find that 50% who voted in the 2019 EU elections voted Remain in 2016, while 45% voted Leave. Even so, 50% would now vote Leave and 46% would Remain. In other words, British conservatism, if it wishes to survive in the short-term, needs to take Britain out of the EU. If it doesn’t, it won’t.

However, those like Steve Davies of the IEA argue that these events demonstrate a more significant long-term realignment in British politics. Rather than left vs right, we now see the divide as one of cosmopolitanism vs communitarianism that breaks down the old divides between classes, communities, and parties. As Davies argues, we see a realignment of our politics roughly every 40 years. The last was in the late 1970’s and ushered in the Reagan/Thatcher era, with its emphasis on greater individualism and economic freedom. Society was out; spending was in. If we take Davies’ diagnosis seriously, then it should not be surprising that we are currently experiencing another realignment. From the chaos of the British political system, the fact that we are going through some sort of shake-up should be obvious.