The Pivotal Decline of David Cameron’s Liberal Faction

Hello and good morning. Our team has uncovered an important scoop about the future direction of green policies under the Conservatives, breaking the summer lull in news. While I don’t have much to add at the moment, this scoop is undoubtedly significant.

Fortunately, I recently delved into The Case for the Centre Right, a collection of essays edited by David Gauke, the former justice secretary and lord chancellor. Here are some of my thoughts on that.

Claiming Back Terri-Tory

One of the captivating paradoxes of the past 13 years is that the Conservative Party UK returned to power with the support of its liberal wing, yet since then, Tory liberals have suffered nothing short of a disaster.

In my opinion, the Tory party owes its return to Downing Street to David Cameron’s modernization efforts. Without him, it would not have been possible. However, Cameron’s faction has experienced a catastrophic 13 years. The UK has exited the EU, taxes are at record levels, and the environmental agenda has taken a backseat. Instead of focusing on attracting affluent ethnic minority voters, whom Cameron invested significant time and energy in, the Conservatives have become the party primarily supported by retired, largely white British voters.

Now, David Gauke, one of the most effective administrators of the past 13 years, has compiled a volume of essays titled The Case for the Centre Right. This book includes prominent moderate Tories such as Danny Finkelstein, Amber Rudd, Rory Stewart, Andrew Cooper, and Anne Milton.

The book possesses numerous strengths. The essays are insightful and thought-provoking. However, something seems to be missing. While reading the book, it appears that the authors believe their opponents’ wickedness is the sole reason why Conservative moderates and the Tory left have lost power. I believe this cannot be the complete story. It fails to explain why the liberal center-right, once the dominant faction under Cameron, has now become a subordinate one under Sunak. This puzzling shift is undoubtedly the central question confronting Conservative moderates. Without a theory to explain their internal defeats, they will struggle to reverse them anytime soon.

One of Tony Blair’s rules for the opposition is to “start with an honest analysis of why you are in opposition.” I’m uncertain whether Tory moderates have conducted a sincere analysis of their defeats. Until they do, reclaiming control of the Conservative party will be a challenging endeavor.

Now Try This

Over the weekend, I had the pleasure of watching the films Oppenheimer and Barbie. My initial impression upon leaving the cinema was that Oppenheimer is the superior film, but Barbie sparked more intriguing conversations. I find myself constantly recommending Oppenheimer to others and reading reviews of Barbie. You can find Danny Leigh’s take on the latter here.

To my surprise, Janan Ganesh has managed to write an interesting and entirely accurate column about the film. You can read his column on Oppenheimer here and Danny Leigh’s review here.

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