Taking Pleasure In the Downfall of the Conservative Party? It's Comprehensible – But Totally Wrong
On various occasions when Tory figureheads have seemed reasonably coherent outwardly – and alternate phases where they have come across as animal crackers, yet remained popular by their party. This is not that situation. One prominent Conservative didn't energize the audience when she spoke at her conference, while she threw out the divisive talking points of migrant-baiting she thought they wanted.
The issue wasn't that they’d all woken up with a fresh awareness of humanity; more that they lacked faith she’d ever be in a position to follow through. In practice, an imitation. The party dislikes such approaches. A veteran Tory was said to label it a “jazz funeral”: loud, vigorous, but nonetheless a parting.
What Next for this Party That Can Reasonably Claim to Make for Itself as the Most Historically Successful Democratic Party in Modern Times?
Certain members are taking a fresh look at one contender, who was a hard “no” at the outset – but as things conclude, and rivals has departed. Another group is generating a buzz around Katie Lam, a recently elected representative of the latest cohort, who presents as a Shires Tory while wallpapering her social media with immigration-critical posts.
Is she poised as the standard-bearer to beat back the rival party, now surpassing the Tories by a substantial lead? Is there a word for overcoming competitors by becoming exactly like them? And, assuming no phrase fits, surely we could borrow one from martial arts?
Should You Take Pleasure In These Developments, in a Schadenfreude Way, in a Just-Deserts Way, One Can See Why – But Totally Misguided
One need not examine America to grasp this point, nor read the scholar's groundbreaking study, Conservative Parties and the Birth of Democracy: all your cognitive processes is emphasizing it. The mainstream right is the key defense against the far right.
His research conclusion is that political systems endure by satisfying the “propertied and powerful” happy. I have reservations as an organising principle. It feels as though we’ve been indulging the affluent and connected for decades, at the expense of other citizens, and they never seem sufficiently content to halt efforts to take a bite out of social welfare.
However, his study isn’t a hunch, it’s an comprehensive document review into the Weimar-era political organization during the interwar Germany (combined with the UK Tories around the early 1900s). When the mainstream right becomes uncertain, when it starts to chase the rhetoric and symbolic politics of the extremist elements, it cedes the direction.
We Saw Similar Patterns During the Brexit Years
The former Prime Minister associating with a controversial strategist was a clear case – but far-right flirtation has become so pronounced now as to eliminate competing Tory talking points. Where are the established party members, who value predictability, tradition, legal frameworks, the UK reputation on the world stage?
Why have we lost the modernisers, who described the country in terms of powerhouses, not powder kegs? To be clear, I wasn’t wild about any of them too, but it's remarkably noticeable how such perspectives – the broad-church approach, the reformist element – have been erased, superseded by relentless demonisation: of migrants, Muslims, benefit claimants and activists.
Appear at Podiums to Music That Sounds Like the Theme Tune to the Television Drama
And talk about issues they reject. They portray demonstrations by 75-year-old pacifists as “displays of hostility” and display banners – national emblems, Saint George’s flags, anything with a bold patriotic hues – as an open challenge to those questioning that being British through and through is the best thing a person could possibly be.
There appears to be no any natural braking system, encouraging reassessment with core principles, their traditional foundations, their own plan. Whatever provocation the political figure presents to them, they follow. Consequently, definitely not, it’s not fun to observe their collapse. They are dragging civil society down with them.
