Enjoying the Implosion of the Conservative Party? That's Understandable – Yet Totally Incorrect

On various occasions when Tory figureheads have appeared moderately rational on the surface – and other moments where they have come across as completely unhinged, yet were still adored by their base. Currently, it's far from that situation. A leading Tory left the crowd unmoved when she spoke at her conference, even as she presented the divisive talking points of migrant-baiting she thought they wanted.

The issue wasn't that they’d all woken up with a revived feeling of humanity; rather they were skeptical she’d ever be able to deliver it. It was, fake vegan meat. Tories hate that. An influential party member apparently called it a “New Orleans funeral”: loud, vigorous, but nonetheless a parting.

What Next for this Party Having Strong Arguments to Make for Itself as the Most Accomplished Governing Force in History?

Certain members are taking a fresh look at one contender, who was a firm rejection at the outset – but now it’s the end, and everyone else has withdrawn. Another group is generating a buzz around a newer MP, a recently elected representative of the latest cohort, who presents as a Shires Tory while saturating her socials with anti-migrant content.

Is she poised as the figurehead to beat back opposition forces, now leading the Conservatives by 20 points? Does a term exist for defeating opponents by becoming exactly like them? And, should one not exist, perhaps we might adopt a term from combat sports?

If You’re Enjoying These Developments, in a How-the-Mighty-Are-Fallen Way, in a Serves-Them-Right-for-Austerity Way, It's Comprehensible – However Totally Misguided

It isn't necessary to consider overseas examples to understand this, or reference a prominent academic's groundbreaking study, his analysis of political systems: your entire mental framework is shouting it. Moderate conservatism is the crucial barrier resisting the far right.

The central argument is that representative governments persist by appeasing the “elite classes” happy. I’m not wild about it as an guiding tenet. It feels as though we’ve been keeping the privileged groups for ages, at the cost of other citizens, and they rarely appear sufficiently content to halt efforts to take a bite out of disability benefits.

But his analysis isn’t a hunch, it’s an comprehensive document review into the historical German conservative group during the pre-war period (along with the British Conservatives circa 1906). When the mainstream right loses its confidence, if it commences to chase the rhetoric and gesture-based policies of the far right, it hands them the direction.

There Were Examples Some of This In the Referendum Aftermath

The former Prime Minister cosying up to a controversial strategist was a notable instance – but radical alignment has become so pronounced now as to obliterate any other party narratives. Whatever became of the established party members, who prize stability, conservation, legal frameworks, the national prestige on the international platform?

What happened to the progressives, who described the nation in terms of powerhouses, not volatile situations? To be clear, I had reservations regarding either faction as well, but it's remarkably noticeable how such perspectives – the inclusive conservative, the Cameroonian Conservative – have been marginalized, in favour of constant vilification: of immigrants, religious groups, benefit claimants and demonstrators.

They Walk On Stage to Music That Sounds Like the Signature Music to the Television Drama

And talk about what they cannot stand for any more. They portray protests by 75-year-old pacifists as “carnivals of hatred” and use flags – national emblems, English symbols, any item featuring a vibrant national tones – as an clear provocation to anyone who doesn’t think that being British through and through is the ultimate achievement a human can aspire to.

We observe an absence of any natural braking system, that prompts reflection with their own values, their historical context, their own plan. Any stick the Reform leader offers them, they pursue. Consequently, absolutely not, it isn't enjoyable to see their disintegration. They are dragging social cohesion along in their decline.

Beverly Dunlap
Beverly Dunlap

A passionate writer and thinker with a background in literature, sharing unique perspectives on modern issues.