It's nothing new for political parties to be out of favour, only for them to make remarkable recoveries. But in the curious mood of introspection and intellectual atrophy that followed its loss of power in 1997, the Conservative Party convinced itself that its 'brand' had become irredeemably tainted. It was so persuaded by self-styled Tory modernisers who seemed keener to embrace the accusation that their party was nasty uncaring, out of touch, intolerant, selfish, indifferent to environmental concerns than they were to refute it. The modernisers insisted that only a rebranding exercise, which would demonstrate that the party's character was undergoing a fundamental change, together with a resumption of the quest for the middle ground, could rescue the Conservative Party from a downward spiral of decline. The empirical basis for these assumptions was unsound: polling data, which was said to show that a policy became unpopular the moment it was seen as a Tory policy, was either flawed or misrepresented. It is now clear that modernising programme has been a disaster. Despite the worst financial problems for decades and an increasingly unpopular incumbent Labour prime minister, the Party failed to win an overall majority in 2010, failed to eat into the LibDem vote, and also failed in most of of its other declared aims. Mrs Thatcher had urged her colleagues to 'think the unthinkable'. The modernisation project, enthusiastically embraced by David Cameron,has stifled thought on the most pressing problems of the day. And it has badly-equipped the party to face changing political realities. The final humiliation for those who remain loyal to core Tory values is to observe the rapid rise of new parties which declare their own beliefs in patriotism, the free market and social order.
About the Author
Anthony Scholefield is an economist and accountant who has been a self-employed businessman for many years. He co-founded the UK Independence Party in 1993; stood in various elections; was the Party Secretary and, for some years, the party operated from his office. He also worked closely with the NO Campaign; has written various studies and numerous articles on the EU, demography, public finance and immigration. His latest publication from the Social Affairs Unit is 'Warning: Immigration Can Seriously Damage Your Wealth'. Gerald Frost is a journalist who has written widely about domestic and international politics. He has been Director of the Centre for Policy Studies (1992-95), and head of the Institute of European Defence and Strategic Studies, which he founded in 1981. He has edited more than 70 books and monographs and has published In Search of Stability: Europe's Unfinished Revolution; Europe in Turmoil; Hubris: the Tempting of Modern Conservatives (with Digby Anderson); and, Not Fit to Fight: the cultural subversion of the armed forces in Britain and America. He has drafted speeches for Margaret Thatcher and Keith Joseph. His most recent book is Champion of Liberty, a biography of Sir Antony Fisher, the founder of the Institute of Economic Affairs, published by Profile in October 2002. He has contributed articles to a wide variety of British and US newspapers. From 2001 until 2009 he was editor of the fortnightly publication, eurofacts.
About the Author
Anthony Scholefield is an economist and accountant who has been a self-employed businessman for many years. He co-founded the UK Independence Party in 1993; stood in various elections; was the Party Secretary and, for some years, the party operated from his office. He also worked closely with the NO Campaign; has written various studies and numerous articles on the EU, demography, public finance and immigration. His latest publication from the Social Affairs Unit is 'Warning: Immigration Can Seriously Damage Your Wealth'. Gerald Frost is a journalist who has written widely about domestic and international politics. He has been Director of the Centre for Policy Studies (1992-95), and head of the Institute of European Defence and Strategic Studies, which he founded in 1981. He has edited more than 70 books and monographs and has published In Search of Stability: Europe's Unfinished Revolution; Europe in Turmoil; Hubris: the Tempting of Modern Conservatives (with Digby Anderson); and, Not Fit to Fight: the cultural subversion of the armed forces in Britain and America. He has drafted speeches for Margaret Thatcher and Keith Joseph. His most recent book is Champion of Liberty, a biography of Sir Antony Fisher, the founder of the Institute of Economic Affairs, published by Profile in October 2002. He has contributed articles to a wide variety of British and US newspapers. From 2001 until 2009 he was editor of the fortnightly publication, eurofacts.
