Righteous indignation is an appropriate response to ineffective governance, except when it comes from the cabinet, in which case it is absurd. Suella Braverman rightly criticizes the police for their failure to investigate thefts, calling it “completely unacceptable.” However, this comment would have been more impactful if it had come from someone other than the home secretary herself.
Denouncing policy failures from the position of power has become a specialty of the Tory right. Lee Anderson, deputy chair of the party, claims that immigration is “out of control.” Backbench MPs lament high taxes suffocating economic growth. The Conservative party expresses shock and disapproval over the state of a country it has been governing for the past 13 years. However, who is truly responsible for these issues?
There are numerous candidates: the opposition, lawyers, judges (both European and domestic), immigrants, charities, environmental activists, the BBC, the civil service, universities, the Office for Budget Responsibility, or some formless union of them all, known as the malignant “blob.”
However, even this formidable alliance should not surpass the power of a determined government under visionary leadership. There must be internal debilitation as well. The root of the problem lies at the top.
This is the conclusion drawn by Nadine Dorries in her recent resignation letter, published over the weekend, as she steps down from her parliamentary seat. While Dorries begins the letter by showcasing her achievements as a minister in Boris Johnson’s cabinet, she goes on to expose the “machinations of a small group of individuals embedded deep at the center of the party and Downing Street.” According to her, this dark and disturbing tale began with the “political assassination” of Johnson, followed by the downfall of Liz Truss. She accuses powerful figures of undemocratically installing Rishi Sunak in Downing Street “without a single vote.”
Dorries’ letter lists various grievances shared by mainstream Conservatives, such as the failure to repeal EU legislation. However, its tone is excessively personal and self-absorbed, making it representative only of the author. Most Tory MPs find her dramatics embarrassing, and the loyalists of the deposed Johnson regime have significantly diminished.
Nevertheless, Dorries’ letter inadvertently sheds light on the predicament facing the Tories. It effectively highlights the transition from disillusioned Conservatism to conspiracy theory, albeit unintentionally.
The notion that Sunak was the beneficiary of a plot to undermine the will of the people is clearly irrational to anyone who witnessed the chaotic unraveling of Johnson’s rule and the disastrous reign of Truss. However, it stems from two common ideas. First, that the government’s unpopularity is attributed to its departure from authentic Conservatism. Second, its perceived lack of accomplishments is blamed on obstacles created by an entrenched liberal left-wing Establishment.
Many Tory MPs subscribe to this analysis, and it will likely shape Sunak’s upcoming general election campaign as it provides an explanation for the party’s underachievement without requiring introspection.
If the Tories do lose the election, as seems likely, they will face a painful reckoning with their failures. Many Conservatives will cope with the defeat by delving deeper into the realm of conspiracy theories.
While Sunak’s allies may argue that he strove to restore competence as an able administrator but was unable to reverse the tide, the caretaker narrative fails to address the underlying causes of the mess. No one is willing to examine the thread that leads from Truss to Johnson, and from Johnson back to Brexit. Individual pride obstructs candid reflection, but ideology also plays a role.
The Conservative party struggles to address the social impact of economic inequality when their ideological opposition to wealth redistribution is taken into account. This is why Johnson’s levelling up agenda found no practical traction in Tory policymaking.
A party that refrains from holding markets accountable for unfairness, and refuses to utilize tax and spending measures to create equal opportunities, instead resorts to blaming cultural elites. This is particularly appealing for a party reliant on wealthy donors for financial support. It is expedient to scapegoat cultural elites rather than confront economic elites. This dynamic is exacerbated by the lack of tangible benefits resulting from Brexit, which was sold as a remedy for both economic and cultural alienation.
When revolutions fail to deliver utopias, blame is seldom placed on the architects. Instead, there is an automatic inclination to accuse saboteurs and hunt traitors. Marxist regimes followed this pattern, as have Tory Eurosceptics. This tendency will persist as long as there is any compromise with European neighbors that leaves a theoretical vulnerability to continental influence.
Brexit is a uniquely British expression of a cycle that transcends British conservatism and is not exclusive to the right. This cycle represents the inherent contradiction of populism as it transitions from insurgency to governance. A party that claims to champion the people against corrupt elites becomes dependent on the enduring strength of those elites to explain why their policies are unsuccessful.
Failure perpetuates the myth of a powerful enemy, which leads to poor policy choices, further failure, and the reinforcement of the invisible foe. This is the pathway from ideology to conspiracy theory. It offers a seductive solution for political frustrations without the need to question deeply held beliefs. It follows its own internal logic, impervious to contradictory evidence.
Sunak may not be riding this wave, but he is observing his party being carried along by it and lacks the courage to disrupt it. While he may consider Dorries’ explanation for the Tories’ misfortunes to be deranged, her narrative is no less coherent than the prime minister’s silence on the matter. Downing Street may be relieved to see her depart from parliament, but the paranoid denial she represents, the so-called Dorries syndrome, will continue to linger within the Conservative party for years to come.
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