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Living the nightmare - a future history of the Right
Posted by Simon Cooke (@simonmagus)
Friday, 26th February 2010
I argued recently that libertarians who plan to vote Labour (so as to allow for a new party of the right to rise phoenix-like from the ashes of a defeated conservative party) may not get what they want. A couple of siren voices were suggesting this and I felt a warning was in order. Not that they agree with me of course!
However, to elaborate requires a bit of alternative future history. And first you must imagine the nightmare – imagine that Gordon Brown gets back into Downing Street without a majority, just 34% in the polls and the cynical support of Nick Clegg’s rather battered Liberal Democrats. A shellshocked Conservative Party – with more votes than any other party – stares at the headlamps of oblivion.
A referendum is held – not on “alternative vote” but on “single transferable vote” as the price of Clegg’s support. The angry public – seeing Gordon in Downing Street votes for a new electoral system. The Conservative Party splits. But into what?
There are, I feel three threads within what might be called the “right” (and I am defining what is right on the basis of popular perspective not policy analysis – this means the BNP is a right-wing party despite Labour nicking all their policies).
The authoritarian, protectionist party. Anyone who knows the Conservative Party well will know that a considerable proportion of the grassroots are “Queen & Country” Tories (even “hang ‘em & flog ‘em” Tories). These people are not really averse to ID cards, to the security state, to greater police powers and to restrictive border controls. Such people are protectionist – they would stop Cadbury being sold to the Yanks and think people should buy British. For these folk, the country is full – no more immigration thank you and let’s give priority to “British traditions”. At the nasty end of this thread is the racist, fascist BNP and it runs past the isolationists of UKIP to the appealing and moderate policies of Iain Duncan Smith’s interventionist muscular Christianity.
The sceptical conservative party. When the Conservative Party was dubbed the stupid party, this was the idea beneath that accusation. This is the Conservatism of Lord Salisbury and A J Balfour – doubting of intellectual absolutism and ideology, questioning of the state’s ability to resolve problems, pro-business rather than pro-market and focused on “what’s right is what works” (copyright A. Blair). This is the party of the squirarchy, the “Knights of the Shire” and Disraeli’s Primrose League. This is the party closest to David Cameron’s position – he is not Blair reborn but a return to an old patriarchal tradition, the party of Salisbury and Baldwin. Now scepticism is essential - but scepticism without premise is a recipe for flap.
The liberal party. Britain does not have a liberal party – it died with the retirement of Jo Grimond. What remains of the liberal tradition in Britain is kept alive in hidden corners of the Conservative Party, on the fringes of the Liberal Democrats and in a mish-mash of minor parties. This is the party of small government, low taxes, minimum regulation, tolerance and personal responsibility. This is the party of free speech, free trade and free enterprise – the antithesis of the authoritarian party above. I make no secret of the fact that this is my party.
Now for libertarians – real liberals – who would want to see this split, the answer is what result we might get? Over the years, liberals have won because we are right rather than because we are popular. Sadly the cry; “something must be done” is followed by promises of enquiry, legislation, regulation and enforcement. And when that fails more is done. When road accidents rise following several years of installing cameras and demonising the bloke who exceed the speed limit by a few MPH, the cry is for more cameras, more rules and tough punishments.
To return to our future history – we have created a new liberal party from out of the ashes of the broken Tory Party but it is matched by an illiberal authoritarian, isolationist party – probably calling itself a conservative party. Where would the votes go? Would we find ourselves in a party getting 10% of the vote and 30-odd MPs? Fated to spend eternity playing coalition politics with fascists and authoritarians of left and right? Scrapping for the votes of intelligent centrists with the Liberal Democrats?
All I can say is that I don’t know. But the damage to the lives of ordinary people from five more years of Gordon Brown’s slash and burn politics would, for me, be too much to bear. And isn’t entryism better?
