As friends know, my BA was in Politics and International Studies and I was a member of the Labour Party for many years, and still count the evening of May 1, 1997, seeing Jim Murphy elected in the safe Conservative seat of Eastwood and Tony Blair winning a landslide majority, as one of the best ever. I was most definitely still up for Stephen Twigg beating Michael Portillo and kicking him out of Parliament. Although I live I the USA, I am still a UK voter and read The Times daily for news, and The Guardian for entertainment. It seems whatever paper you read, British politics is a disaster zone, with open warfare evident on one side and the smoldering embers of battle still burning on the other.
I recently read Charles Clarke’s book on Conservative Party Leaders, and many of these men (and unlike in Labour, women) were at least capable of rational argument, many able to dominate those in their party and shape the agenda. However, other than in 1982, there would not have been an occasion where I would have voted for anyone other than Labour.
As Corbyn’s hard-left entryists wrestle full control of Labour, the Conservative Party needs to be a viable, credible, electoral power to rival Corbyn, not for the future of the Conservatives, (for which I care little) but for the future of the country. If there were an election tomorrow it would be a very unpleasant decision to make, as today’s Conservatives are a shambles.
They are managerially incompetent, ill- disciplined, ideologically split without vison, fiscally illiterate, immoral and filled with ego-centric politicians, some of whom are emotionally damaged, politically incoherent, and deaf to all, other than the narrow sector of the Oxford debating society membership to which they still believe that they are part of. In some cases it is all of the above.
As the SDP, Liberal Democrats and indeed UKIP, showed, no matter how credible and popular your leaders and policies are, third parties and outsiders cannot meaningfully succeed in the UK electoral system. There can be no British Macron or Trump.
The Riders
The next leader of the Conservative Party has to be a Brexiteer. To have a remainer lead Britain into a post-Brexit world is absurd.
The current bookies favourite to replace Theresa May is Jacob Rees-Mogg. If Rees-Mogg is the answer, we are asking the wrong question. Undoubtedly talented and popular with colleagues, the man is an anachronism, a Nicholas Fairbairn for this generation. He is supremely unsuited to uniting the nation and advocating a vision for The UK for the next generation. Boris Johnson, likewise, is not credible. He may see himself as a Churchillian figure, but proved himself inept in his Department, unable to handle diplomacy and is altogether a bit of a joke. Michael Gove, again, is competent, full of ideas, but supremely dislikable. There are questions regarding the temperament and abilities of David Davis, and his ability to lead Brexit negotiations, never mind unite his colleagues in a Government.
All the others, such as Javid, Hammond, Hunt and Williamson are soft Brexiters, or remainers and will have the same Parliamentary issues as Theresa May, except, hopefully, with more competence.
In short, within this crop, all are either unelectable or lack the ability to govern effectively within the nest of vipers that is the Conservative Party. The country needs a socially liberal pragmatist, but with a Conservative message. Someone with experience of Government, who has respect of Parliamentarians. Someone with name recognition, that the country can turn to. It needs someone with a narrative.
The Only Answer
I nominate a former Defence Secretary, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Shadow Chancellor and Deputy Leader of The Conservative Party, Michael Portillo. A Eurosceptic Brexiteer, journalist, commentator and television presenter that has adopted a more liberal approach to understanding Britain today, as well as historical, moral and environmental issues, which he advocates with clarity.
I was delighted when Michael Portillo lost his seat, but have watched and admired his reinvention as a more rounded human. All that is left for his redemptive hero’s journey to be complete, is for him to return as the unifier.
I was up for Portillo in 1997, but in 2018 is he up for us?
June 2018
Oliver Lovat's Blog 